Early  Western  Travels 
1748-1846 


Volume  III 


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Fr.  Andre  Michaux 


Travels  West  of  the 
Alleghanies 

Made   in  1793-96   by  Andre  Michaux;  in  1802  by 

F.  A.  Michaux;  and  in  1803  by  Thaddeus 

Mason  Harris,  M.  A. 


Edited  with  Notes,  Introductions,  Index,  etc.,  by 

Reuben  Gold  Thwaites 

Editor  of  "The  Jesuit  Relations  and  Allied  Documents,"  "Wisconsin 

Historical  Collections,"  "Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare," 

"Hennepin's  New  Discovery,"  etc. 


(Separate   publication   from  "Early  Western  Travels:      1 748-1846," 
in  which  series  this  appeared  as  Volume  III) 


Cleveland,  Ohio 

The  Arthur  H.  Clark  Company 

1904 


\ 


*  »       « 


*      *  * 


-w 


CONTENTS    OF  VOLUME   III 

Preface.     The  Editor u 

I 

Journal  of  Travels  into  Kentucky;  July  15,  1793-April 

11,  1796.     Andre  Michaux  ......       25 

II 

Travels  to  the  West  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
in  the  States  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessea,  and 
back  to  Charleston,  by  the  Upper  Carolines  .  .  .  un- 
dertaken inthe  year  1802.  September  24,  1801— March 
1,  1803.     Francois  Andre  Michaux       ....     105 

III 

The  Journal  of  a  Tour  into  the  Territory  North- 
west of  the  Alleghany  Mountains;  made  in  the 
Spring  of  the  Year  1803.  April  7 — "beginning  of  July." 
Thaddeus  Mason  Harris,  A.M.     .....    307 


2587<;:* 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  VOLUME  III 

I.  Portrait  of  Francois  Andre  Michaux.  From  oil  paint- 
ing in  possession  of  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety at  Philadelphia  ....  Frontispiece 
II.  Carte  des  Etats  du  Centre,  de  l'Ouest  et  du  Sud  des 
Etats-Unis,  1804  [From  the  original  French  edi- 
tion]   108 

III.     Photographic  facsimile  of  title-page  to  Francois  Andre 

Michaux's  Travels 109 

rV.     Photographic  facsimile  of  title-page  to  Harris's  Journal    309 

V.     Photographic    facsimile    of    Map   of    Alleghany    and 

Yohiogany  Rivers;  from  Harris's  Journal  .  -331 
VI.     Photographic  facsimile  of  Map  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  by 

Rufus  Putnam;  from  Harris's  Journal  .         .351 


PREFACE  TO  VOLUME   III 

We  publish  in  this  volume  Andre  Michaux's  journal 
of  his  travels  into  Kentucky  from  1793-96,  Englished  by 
us  from  the  French  version  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society;  a  reprint  of  the  English 
version  of  Travels  to  the  West  oj  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains, made  in  1802  by  his  son,  Francois  Andre  Michaux; 
and  a  reprint  of  Thaddeus  Mason  Harris's  Journal  oj  a 
Tour  into  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains, made  in  the  Spring  oj  the  Year  1803  —  omitting, 
however,  as  unnecessary  to  our  present  purpose,  the 
appendix  thereto. 

The  Michauxs 

Andre  Michaux,  whose  name  is  known  to  scientists  of 
both  hemispheres,  was  born  at  Satory,  Versailles,  in 
1746.  Destined  by  his  father  for  the  superintendence  of 
a  farm  belonging  to  the  royal  estate,  Michaux  early  be- 
came interested  in  agriculture,  even  while  pursuing 
classical  studies.  Upon  the  death  of  his  young  wife, 
Cecil  Claye,  which  occurred  at  the  birth  of  their  son, 
Francois  Andre  (1770),  he  devoted  himself  to  scientific 
studies  in  the  effort  to  overcome  his  grief.  These  natur- 
aUy  took  the  direction  of  botany,  and  Michaux  became 
imbued  with  a  desire  to  seek  for  strange  plants  in  foreign 
countries.  From  1779-81  he  travelled  in  England,  the 
Auvergne,  and  the  Pyrenees;  and  later  (1782-85),  in 
Persia,  botanizing,  and  studying  the  political  situation  of 
the  Orient.  He  had  intended  to  return  to  Persia,  but 
while  in  France  (1785)  the  government  requested  that  he 


t     c      c 


II'''  I  * 

i  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

should  proceed  to  North  America  in  order  to  make  a 
study  of  forest  trees,  and  experiment  with  regard  to  their 
transplantation  to  France.  Accordingly,  in  the  autumn 
of  1785,  he  left  France,  taking  with  him  his  young  son. 

Landing  in  New  York  he  passed  a  year  and  a  half  in 
that  vicinity,  herborizing,  and  attempting  a  botanical 
garden.  Finding  the  latitude  of  the  Southern  states, 
however,  more  suited  to  his  enterprise,  he  removed  in  the 
spring  of  1787  to  Charleston.  Purchasing  a  plantation 
about  ten  miles  from  the  city,  he  entered  with  enthusiasm 
into  the  search  for  new  plants  and  their  culture  upon  his 
estate.  In  this  year  he  explored  the  mountains  of  the 
Carolinas,  and  a  twelve-month  later  made  a  difficult  and 
hazardous  journey  through  the  swamps  and  marshes  of 
Florida.  The  next  year  (1789)  was  occupied  by  a  voy- 
age to  the  Bahamas,  and  another  search  among  the 
mountains  for  plants  of  a  commercial  nature  —  notably 
ginseng,  whose  utility  he  taught  the  mountaineers. 

In  1794  he  undertook  a  most  difficult  expedition  to 
Canada  and  the  arctic  regions  about  Hudson  Bay,  and 
upon  his  return  proposed  to  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  at  Philadelphia  an  exploration  of  the  great  West 
by  way  of  the  Missouri  River.  A  subscription  was  begun 
for  this  purpose,  and  Jefferson  drafted  for  him  detailed 
instructions  for  the  journey;1  but  his  services  were  needed 
in  another  direction,  and  the  Missouri  exploration  was 
abandoned  for  a  political  mission. 

The  discontent  of  the  Western  settlers  with  regard  to 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  had  reached  an 
acute  stage;  the  French  minister  to  the  United  States 
had  come  armed  with  instructions  to  secure  the  co-opera- 

1  See  documents  in  Original  Journals  o)  Lewis  and  Clark  (New  York,  1904), 
appendix. 


1 793-1803]  Preface  1 3 

tion  of  trans-Allegheny  Americans  for  a  raid  upon  the 
Spanish  territory  of  Louisiana,  aimed  to  recover  that 
province  for  the  power  to  which  it  had  formerly  belonged, 
and  make  it  a  basis  for  revolutionary  movements  in 
Canada,  the  West  Indies,  and  ultimately  all  Spanish 
America.2  This  minister  arrived  in  Charleston  in  Febru- 
ary, 1793,  and  selected  Michaux  as  his  agent  to  commu- 
nicate with  the  Kentucky  leaders.  An  ardent  republican, 
already  in  the  pay  of  the  French  government,  and  friendly 
with  influential  men  in  government  circles,  Michaux 
seemed  a  most  desirable  as  well  as  the  most  available 
agent  possible.  One  characteristic  was  not,  however, 
sufficiently  considered.  Whatever  may  have  been  his 
interest  in  the  intrigue,  whatever  accounts  thereof  are 
through  caution  or  prudence  omitted  from  the  journal 
here  printed,  one  fact  is  evident  —  that  Michaux  was 
chiefly  devoted  to  the  cause  of  science ;  these  pages  reveal 
that  a  rare  plant  or  new  tree  interested  him  much  more 
than  an  American  general  or  a  plot  to  subvert  Spanish 
tyranny. 

His  first  Kentucky  journey  was,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  diplomats,  but  moderately  successful.  With  the 
collapse  of  the  enterprise  —  due  to  the  imprudence  of 
Genet,  the  firmness  of  Washington,  the  growing  loyalty 
of  the  Westerners  to  the  new  federal  government,  and 
the  change  of  leaders  in  France  —  Michaux  returned  to 
botanical  pursuits,  and  his  later  journeys  appear  to  have 
been  undertaken  solely  in  order  to  herborize.  There  are, 
however,  some  slight  indications  in  the  text  that  he  enter- 
tained hope  of  continuing  the  enterprise,  and  of  its  ulti- 

2  See  Turner,  ' '  Origin  of  Genet's  Projected  Attack  on  Louisiana  and  the 
Floridas"  in  American  Historical  Review,  July,  1897;  [also  documents  in 
American  Historical  Association  Report,  1896  and  1897. 


1  , 

1 4  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

mate  success.  His  inquiries,  in  the  Cumberland,  for 
guides  for  the  Missouri  expedition,  prove  that  he  had  by 
no  means  abandoned  his  purpose  of  undertaking  that 
hazardous  project. 

But  these  long  Western  journeys  had  exhausted  his 
resources;  for  seven  years  he  had  had  no  remittance 
from  the  French  government,  and  was  now  under  the 
necessity  of  returning  to  Europe  to  attend  to  his  affairs. 
Accordingly  in  1796  he  embarked  for  France,  and  was 
shipwrecked  on  the  coast  of  Holland,  losing  part  of  his 
collections;  but  his  herbarium  was  preserved,  and  is  now 
in  the  Musee  de  Paris.  He  ardently  desired  to  be  sent 
back  to  America;  but  his  government  offered  him  no 
encouragement,  and  finally  he  accepted  a  post  upon  an 
expedition  to  New  Holland,  and  in  November,  1802, 
died  of  fever  upon  the  island  of  Madagascar. 

His  son,  Francois  Andre,  entered  into  his  father's  pur- 
suits and  greatly  assisted  him.  While  yet  a  lad,  he  ac- 
companied him  on  several  arduous  journeys  in  America; 
at  other  times  remaining  upon  the  plantation,  engaged 
in  the  care  of  the  transplanted  trees.  He  returned  to 
France  some  years  before  his  father,  in  order  to  study 
medicine,  and  in  the  year  of  the  latter' s  death  was  com- 
missioned by  the  French  minister  of  the  interior  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  United  States  to  study  forests  and  agricul- 
ture in  general. 

The  journal  of  his  travels  was  not  originally  intended 
for  print;  but  the  interest  aroused  in  the  Western  region 
of  the  United  States  by  the  sale  of  Louisiana,  induced  its 
publication.  The  first  French  edition  appeared  in  1804, 
under  the  title,  Voyage  a  Vouest  des  Monts  Alleghany s, 
dans  les  Etats  de  POhio,  et  du  Kentucky,  et  du  Tennessee, 
et  retour  a  Charleston  par  les  Hautes-Carolines.     Another 


i793-l8o3l  Preface  1 5 

edition  appeared  in  1808.  The  first  was  soon  Englished 
by  B.  Lambert,  and  two  editions  with  different  publish- 
ers issued  from  London  presses  in  1805.  The  same  year 
another  translation,  somewhat  abridged,  appeared  in 
volume  i  of  Phillip's  Collection  of  Voyages.  Neither  of 
these  translations  is  well  executed.  The  same  year,  a 
German  translation  issued  from  the  Weimar  press. 

The  younger  Michaux  continued  to  be  interested  in 
the  study  of  trees,  and  spent  several  years  in  preparing 
the  three  volumes  of  Histoire  des  Arbres  forestiers  de 
VAmerique  Septentrionale,  which  appeared  in  1 810-13. 
This  was  translated,  and  passed  through  several  English 
editions,  with  an  additional  volume  added  by  Thomas 
Nuttall  under  the  title  of  The  North  American  Sylva. 

Michaux' s  report  on  the  naturalization  of  American 
forest  trees,  made  to  the  Societe  d'Agriculture  du  departe- 
ment  de  la  Seine,  was  printed  in  1809.3  His  "Notice 
sur  les  Isles  Bermudas,  et  particulierement  sur  ITsle  St. 
George"  was  published  in  Annates  des  Sciences  naturelles 
(1806),  volume  viii.  He  also  assisted  in  editing  his 
father's  work,  Histoire  des  Chenes  de  VAmerique;  and  his 
final  publication  on  American  observations  was  Memoire 
sur  les  causes  de  la  fievre  jaune,  published  at  Paris  in  1852. 
Dr.  Michaux  died  at  Vaureal,  near  Pontoise,  in  1855. 

In  1824  the  younger  Michaux  presented  to  the  Ameri- 
can Philosophical  Society  at  Philadelphia  the  note- 
books containing  the  diary  of  his  father's  travels  in 
America  —  all  save  those  covering  the  first  two  years 
(1785-87),  which  were  lost  in  the  shipwreck  on  the  coast 
of  Holland.  The  value  of  these  journals  has  long  been 
known  to  scientists;  their  larger  interest,  as  revealing 
both  political  and  social  conditions  in  the  new  West,  will 

3  See  review  in  Monthly  Anthology  (Boston,  1810),  viii,  p.  280. 


1 6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

perhaps  be  first  recognized  upon  this  presentation  of  them 
in  English  form.  Written  "by  the  light  of  his  lonely 
campfires,  during  brief  moments  snatched  from  short 
hours  of  repose,  in  the  midst  of  hardships  and  often  sur- 
rounded by  dangers,"  their  literary  form  is  deficient,  and 
frequent  gaps  occur,  which  doubtless  were  intended 
to  be  filled  in  at  some  future  moments  of  leisure.  This 
was  prevented  by  the  author's  untimely  death  in  the 
midst  of  his  labors.  For  nearly  a  century  the  journals 
existed  only  in  manuscript.  In  1884  Charles  S.  Sargent, 
director  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum  of  Harvard  University, 
prepared  the  manuscript  for  the  press,  with  explanatory 
notes  chiefly  on  botanical  matters.4  It  was  published  in 
the  original  French,  in  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  Proceedings,  1889,  pp.  1-145. 

From  this  journal  of  nearly  eleven  years'  travel  in 
America  —  from  Florida  on  the  south,  to  the  wilds  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  country  on  the  north,  from  Philadel- 
phia and  Charleston  on  the  Atlantic  coast  to  the  most 
remote  Western  settlements,  and  the  Indian  lands  of  the 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  —  we  have  selected 
for  translation  and  inclusion  within  our  series,  the  por- 
tions that  concern  particularly  the  trans-Allegheny 
region.  These  relate  to  the  expedition  made  to  Kentucky 
by  way  of  the  Ohio  (1793),  with  the  return  over  the  Wil- 
derness Road  and  through  the  Valley  of  Virginia;  and  the 
longer"  journey  (1795-96)  from  Charleston  to 'Tennessee, 
thence  through  Kentucky  to  the  Illinois,  and  back  by  a 
similar  route  with  side  excursions  on  the  great  Western 
rivers. 


*  The  notes  in  the  journals  of  the  elder  Michaux  signed  C.  S.  S.,  are  those  of 
Sargent,  found  in  the  French  edition  and  designed  chiefly  to  elucidate  botanical 
references. 


1 793-1803]  Preface  17 

The  journals  of  the  elder  Michaux  "record  the  im- 
pressions of  a  man  of  unusual  intelligence  —  a  traveller 
in  many  lands,  who  had  learned  by  long  practice  to  use 
his  eyes  to  good  advantage  and  to  write  down  only  what 
they  saw."  A  part  of  the  value  of  these  documents  to  a 
student  of  Western  history  consists  in  their  accurate  and 
succinct  outline  of  the  areas  of  colonization.  The  extent 
and  boundaries  of  Michaux's  travels  enable  us  to  map 
with  considerable  accuracy  the  limits  of  the  settled 
regions  —  first,  that  from  Pittsburg  down  the  Ohio  to 
just  below  Marietta;  then,  after  passing  a  region  without 
a  town,  between  Gallipolis  and  Limestone  (Maysville, 
Kentucky),  the  traveller  enters  the  thickly  occupied 
area  of  Kentucky,  bounded  on  the  south  and  west  by 
the  "barrens,"  into  which  emigration  was  beginning  to 
creep.  In  the  Illinois,  Michaux's  unfavorable  comment 
upon  the  French  habitants  is  in  accord  with  that  of  other 
visitors  of  the  same  nationality;  his  travels  therein  show 
that  the  small  French  group  were  the  only  settlers,  save  a 
few  venturesome  Americans  at  Belief ontaine,  and  ' '  Corne 
de  Cerf."  In  East  Tennessee,  the  outpost  was  Fort 
Southwest  Point,  where  the  Clinch  and  Holston  meet; 
thence,  a  journey  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles  through 
"the  Wilderness"  brought  one  to  the  frontier  post  of  the 
Cumberland  settlements,  at  Bledsoe's  Lick.  Upon  Mi- 
chaux's return,  nearly  a  year  later,  the  Cumberland  fron- 
tier had  extended,  and  Fort  Blount  had  been  built  forty 
miles  to  the  eastward  as  a  protection  for  the  ever-increas- 
ing number  of  travellers  and  pioneers.  The  western 
borders  of  Cumberland  were  also  rapidly  enlarging. 
Clarksville,  on  the  Cumberland  River  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Red,  had  long  been  on  the  extreme  border  in  this  direc- 
tion; but  Michaux  found  daring  settlements  stretching 


1 8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

out  beyond,  seizing  the  rich  river  bottoms  and  organizing 
a  town  as  a  nucleus  for  scattered  planters. 

Michaux  faithfully  presents  the  conditions  that  con- 
fronted travellers  in  his  day  —  the  lack  of  inns,  the  stray- 
ing of  horses  with  the  consequent  annoyance  and  delay, 
the  inadequate  means  for  crossing  rivers,  the  frequent 
necessity  for  waiting  until  a  sufficient  body  of  travellers 
had  collected  to  act  as  a  guard  through  the  uninhabited 
regions.  He  also  traversed  nearly  all  the  routes  by  which 
emigration  was  pouring  into  the  Western  country  —  the 
Wilderness  Road  to  Kentucky,  the  routes  from  North 
Carolina  over  the  mountains  to  East  Tennessee,  the 
Wilderness  Road  of  Tennessee  (this  last  a  narrow  and 
dangerous  link  with  the  Cumberland  settlements),  the 
paths  thither  to  Louisville,  and  the  Indian  trails  thence  to 
the  Illinois;  as  well  as  the  river  routes  —  the  Mississippi, 
the  Ohio,  and  the  Cumberland. 

Glimpses  of  the  chief  founders  of  the  Western  country 
are  tantalizing  by  their  meagreness.  We  should  have 
valued  more  detailed  accounts  of  conversations  with 
Clark,  Logan,  and  Shelby,  concerning  Nicholas's  plan 
for  securing  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi;  of  the 
attitude  of  Robertson,  Blount,  and  Daniel  Smith  toward 
the  French  enterprise;  and  of  the  impression  made  at  this 
early  day  by  "a  resident  near  the  Cumberland  River, 
Mr.  Jackson."  Particularly  interesting  is  the  record 
of  the  number  of  Frenchmen  who  became  prominent 
and  useful  citizens  of  the  West  —  Lucas  at  Pittsburg, 
Lacassagne  at  Louisville,  Tardiveau,  Honore,  and 
Depauw  at  Danville  and  vicinity;  apart  from  the  settlers 
at  Gallipolis,  whose  misfortunes  our  author  deplores. 
It  is  hoped  that  this  English  version  of  the  elder  Michaux's 
journals  may   prove   a   contribution  of    importance    to 


1 7  93- 1 803]  Preface  1 9 

those  interested  in  early  conditions  in  the  Mississippi 
VaUey. 

Michaux's  published  works  are,  Histoire  des  Chines  de 
VAmerique —  which  appeared  in  1801,  and  is  supposed 
to  have  been  recast  or  corrected  by  other  scientists  —  and 
Flora  B or eali- Americana,  written  in  Latin  by  Richard 
from  the  plants  which  Michaux  had  collected  in  America, 
and  issued  a  year  after  the  latter's  death.5 

The  few  years  that  intervened  between  the  journeys  of 
the  elder  and  younger  Michaux  show  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  West  was  changing.  Conditions  of  travel  had 
meantime  been  improved,  and  the  development  of  re- 
sources was  proceeding  with  bounds.  The  opening  of 
the  Mississippi  had  caused  an  immense  growth  in  both 
the  extent  and  means  of  Western  commerce;  the  son 
describes  ship-building  upon  the  waters  along  which  the 
father  had  passed  in  Indian  canoes.  The  increase  in 
the  number,  size,  and  appearance  of  the  towns,  and  the 
additional  comforts  in  the  homes  of  the  people,  were  indic- 
ative of  a  great  and  growing  prosperity. 

The  younger  traveller  describes  the  inhabitants  with 
more  particularity  than  his  father.  His  observations 
upon  the  characteristics  of  the  people,  their  occupations 
and  recreations  and  their  political  bias,  are  those  of  an 
intelligent  and  sympathetic  narrator,  with  a  predisposi- 
tion in  favor  of  the  Western  settlers.  His  remarks  in 
chapter  xii  on  the  restlessness  of  the  pioneers,  their 
eagerness  to  push  onward  to  a  newer  country,  their  im- 
patience with  the  growing  trammels  of  civilization,  show 
habits  of  close  observation.  His  optimism  with  regard 
to  the  future  of  the  country,  in  thinking  that  within 
twenty  years  the  Ohio  Valley  would  be  ' '  the  most  popu- 

5  The  references  in  Sargent's  notes  marked  ' '  Michx.,' '  refer  to  this  Flora. 


20  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

lous  and  commercial  part  of  the  United  States,  and  where 
I  should  settle  in  preference  to  any  other,"  exhibits  a 
large  comprehension  of  the  forces  and  elements  of  West- 
ern growth. 

The  American  popularity  of  the  younger  Michaux's 
journal,  in  its  own  time,  proved  his  ability  to  interpret 
the  ideas  of  our  people,  and  the  sympathetic  interest  of  a 
cultured  Frenchman  in  the  democratizing  processes  of 
the  New  World. 

Thaddeus  Mason  Harris 

Thaddeus  Mason  Harris,  author  of  the  Journal  oj  a 
Tour  into  the  Territory  Northwest  oj  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  was  one  of  the  coterie  of  liberal  clergymen 
who  occupied  the  New  England  pulpits  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  As  a  member  of  this  group, 
Harris's  observations  of  the  Western  country  are  of 
peculiar  interest.  He  had  the  training  of  the  typical 
New  Englander — "plain  living  and  high  thinking." 
Born  in  Charlestown  in  1768,  his  family  were  driven  from 
their  home  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  three  years 
later  the  father  died  of  exposure  contracted  during  his 
service  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  As  the  eldest  of  the 
children,  Thaddeus  was  sent  to  ' '  board  around ' '  among 
the  neighboring  farmers,  one  of  whom  took  sufficient 
interest  in  the  promising  lad  to  fit  him  for  college.  An 
accidental  supply  of  money  at  a  later  period,  accepted  as  a 
special  interposition  of  Providence,  made  such  an  im- 
pression upon  the  young  man's  mind  that  he  determined 
to  enter  the  ministry.  He  was  graduated  from  Harvard 
in  1787,  in  the  same  class  with  John  Quincy  Adams. 
After  a  year's  teaching  at  Worcester,  the  position  was 
tendered  him  of  private  secretary  to  the  newly-chosen 
President  Washington,  but  an  attack  of  small-pox  pre- 


1 793-1803]  Preface  21 

vented  its  acceptance,  and  the  place  was  filled  by  Tobias 
Lear. 

In  1789  our  author  was  "approbated  to  preach,"  and 
the  following  year  received  his  A.M.  degree,  delivering 
on  the  occasion  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address.  During 
the  two  succeeding  years  he  served  as  the  librarian  of  his 
alma  mater,  and  was  elected  (1792)  a  resident  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  The  year  1793 
saw  Harris  installed  as  pastor  of  the  first  church  of  Dor- 
chester —  a  relation  which  was  continued  through  over 
forty  years  of  faithful  and  acceptable  service.  A  careful 
pastor,  he  exposed  himself  during  the  epidemic  of  yellow 
fever  in  1802  to  such  an  extent  that  he  contracted  the 
disease,  and  during  his  convalescence  the  Western  journey 
was  planned  and  undertaken  as  a  means  of  recuperation. 
In  this  it  was  eminently  successful,  and  upon  his  return 
to  Dorchester  Harris  plunged  anew  into  literary  and  phil- 
anthropic labors.  Within  the  next  few  years  he  aided  in 
founding  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  the  Massa- 
chusetts Humane  Society,  the  American  Peace  Society, 
the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  the 
Archaeological  Society  at  Athens,  and  was  chosen  cor- 
responding member  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society. 
His  addresses  and  sermons  on  different  occasions  found 
their  way  into  print,  until  nearly  sixty  were  published. 
Harvard  honored  itself  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  divinity  in  181 3,  and  during  his  entire  later 
life  he  acted  as  overseer  in  the  college  corporation.  His 
eldest  son,  a  well-known  entomologist,  served  as  Har- 
vard librarian  for  twenty-five  years  (1831-56). 

After  a  second  severe  illness  (1833),  Dr.  Harris  visited 
Georgia,  and  thereupon  published  a  biography  of  Ogle- 
thorpe.   In  1838  he  resigned  his  pastorate  and  spent 


2  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

his  remaining  five  years  in  congenial  literary  pursuits, 
serving  for  a  time  as  the  librarian  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society.  He  is  described  as  a  "little  quaint 
old  man,  indescribably  bent,  but  still  wearing  a  hale 
aspect,  who  used  to  haunt  the  alcoves  of  the  library  at 
Harvard."  After  March,  1842,  the  place  of  the  old 
scholar  and  reader  in  the  college  library  was  vacant. 

Dr.  Harris  made  no  contribution  of  permanent  value 
to  American  literature,  unless  the  present  book  may  be 
so  considered.  Besides  the  works  mentioned,  he  aided 
(1805)  in  putting  forth  an  encyclopedia,  and  a  Natural 
History  of  the  Bible;  the  result  of  the  last-named  labor 
was  pirated  by  an  English  firm,  which  issued  it  in  several 
editions.  The  Journal  of  a  Tour,  which  we  here  repub- 
lish, sold  well,  and  was  soon  out  of  print.  In  recent 
years,  the  volume  has  brought  a  good  price  at  antiquarian 
sales.  In  addition  to  the  journal  proper,  Harris  added  a 
bulky  appendix,  entitled  a  ' '  Geographical  and  Historical 
Account  of  the  State  of  Ohio,"  from  material  collected 
during  his  visit  at  Marietta,  annexing  thereto:  a  "Letter 
to  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough  on  the  navigation  of  the 
Ohio  (1770);"  the  "Act  of  Congress  forming  the  State;" 
the  "Constitution  of  the  State;"  an  "Account  of  the 
destruction  of  the  Moravian  Settlements  on  the  Muskin- 
gum;" "Wayne's  Treaty;"  and  a  number  of  papers 
connected  with  the  formation  of  the  Ohio  Company  of 
Associates,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory. This  appendix  we  have  omitted  as  not  within 
the  sphere  of  the  present  series,  and  as  containing  infor- 
mation which  can  readily  be  secured  elsewhere. 

As  an  observer,  two  points  characterize  Harris's  narra- 
tive —  his  enthusiasm  for  natural  scenery,  and  the  de- 
light shown  in  its  description;  and  the  dryness  of  his 


1793-1803]  Preface  23 

statements  with  regard  to  the  human  life  which  he  saw 
en  route.  Its  chief  value  lies  in  the  accuracy  which  he 
exhibits  in  data  concerning  the  size  of  the  towns,  their 
prosperity  and  growth,  their  business  interests,  and  stage 
of  material  development;  in  matters  regarding  the  growth 
of  ship-building  and  navigation,  the  number  of  manu- 
factories, and  the  general  material  prosperity  of  the 
region,  Harris  gives  useful  information.  But  as  a  picture 
of  Western  life,  or  as  a  sympathetic  relation  of  human 
affairs  in  this  region,  the  value  is  small.  This  arose  in 
part  from  the  New  Englander's  stout  prejudices  against 
conditions  unfamiliar  to  him.  His  attitude  toward  the 
Western  inhabitants  is  quite  the  contrary  of  that  of  the 
younger  Michaux,  and  forms  thereto  an  effective  foil. 

As  with  previous  volumes  of  this  series,  the  Editor  has 
had  the  active  co-operation  of  Louise  Phelps  Kellogg  in 
the  preparation  of  notes. 

R.  G.  T. 

Madison,  Wis.,  February,  1904. 


Journal  of  Andre  Michaux,  1793 -1796 


Source:  Englished  from  the  original  French,  appearing  in  Amer- 
ican Philosophical  Society  Proceedings,  1889,  pp.  91-101,  1 14-140. 


JOURNAL  OF  ANDRE   MICHAUX 

On  the  15th  of  July  1793,  I  took  leave  of  Citizen  Genet, 
Minister  of  the  Republic  of  France  to  the  United  States1 
and  started  from  Philadelphia  on  the  same  date  at  ten 
o'clock  at  night  to  avoid  the  great  heat,  and  to  travel  by 
Moonlight.  The  16th,  being  in  company  with  .  .  . 
humeau  and     .     .     .     Leblanc,2  we  journeyed  40  miles. 

The  17th,  passed  by  Lancaster  and  made  35  Miles. 

The  1 8th,  passed  by  Carlisle  .  .  .  Miles  and  slept 
at  Chipesbourg  [Shippensburg]. 

The  19th  we  slept  at  Strasbourg     .     .     .     Miles. 

Sunday  the  20th,  we  started  from  Strasbourg,  a  small 
town  situate  at  the  foot  of  the  Mountains;  one  of  our 
horses  having  fallen  sick  we  traveled  only  21  Miles; 
observed  Magnolia  acuminata,  Azalea  octandra,  Kalmia 

1  Edmond  Charles  Genet  (Genest)  was  born  at  Versailles  about  1765.  His 
father  was  a  diplomat  who  was  interested  in  English  literature,  and  who  wel- 
comed the  American  coterie  in  Paris  to  his  home.  Henrietta  Genet,  later 
Madame  Campan,  was  first  lady  of  honor  to  Queen  Marie  Antoinette;  her 
brother  was  chosen  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-four,  secretary  —  later,  charge 
d'affaires  —  to  the  French  embassy  at  St.  Petersburg.  His  dispatches  thence 
were  of  so  republican  a  tone,  that  in  1792  he  was  commissioned  minister  of  the 
new  French  republic,  to  Holland;  but  late  in  the  same  year  was  chosen  for  the 
mission  to  the  United  States,  where  he  arrived  April  8,  1793.  His  career  in 
America  is  well  known.  After  his  commission  was  revoked,  Genet  became  a 
naturalized  American  citizen,  married  a  daughter  of  Governor  Clinton  of 
New  York,  and  died  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  in  1834. — Ed. 

2  Humeau  and  Le  Blanc  appear  to  have  been  agents  of  Genet,  assisting  in 
this  revolutionary  movement.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  former.  Le  Blanc 
was  a  citizen  of  New  Orleans,  well-affected  to  the  French  revolutionary  cause. 
He  was  to  have  been  made  mayor  of  New  Orleans,  when  that  city  should  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  revolutionists.  See  American  Historical  Association 
Report,  1896,  pp.  1049,  1050. —  Ed. 


2  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

latijolia,  Fagus  castanea,  Fagus  pumila,  Finns  2-}olia, 
3- folia,  Strobus:  Abies  Canadensis;  Quercus  castaneaejolia 
etc.    Juglans  nigra. 

The  2 1  st  of  July  started  from  Wells's  tavern,  crossed  the 
Juniata  river  .  .  .  and  noticed  Rhododendron  maxi- 
mum, Hydrangea  jrutescens,  Trillium  erectum;  slept  at 
Bedford.     21  Miles. 

The  22nd.  Started  from  Bedford  and  breakfasted  at  a 
place  4  miles  distant  where  the  Pittsburg  Road  divides 
into  two.  We  took  the  right  hand  road;  the  Rain  com- 
pelled us  to  stop  and  sleep  only  twelve  Miles  from  Bed- 
ford.3 

The  23rd  we  made  24  Miles  and  passed  the  summit  of 
the  Alleganys. 

The  24th  we  made  25  Miles. 

The  25th  we  passed  by  Green' sburg  and  made  31  Miles. 

The  26th  Rain;  we  made  only     .     .     .     Miles. 

The  27th,  we  made  19  Miles  and  arrived  in  Pittsburgh. 
Total  32*  Miles  from  Philadelphia. 

The  28th  visited  Mr.  H.  Brackenridge.5 

The  29th  herborised;  recognized  on  the  banks  of  the 
Monongahela,  Dracocephalum  Virginianum,6  Bigno- 
nia  radicans,  Crotalaria  alba?     These  plants  grow  on 

3  For  a  description  of  the  left-hand  or  southern  branch  of  the  road,  known 
as  "The  Old  Glade,"  see  Harris's  Journal,  post. —  Ed. 

4  Evident  error;  perhaps  320  was  intended. —  C.  S.  S. 

The  distance  in  reality  by  this  route  was  somewhat  less  than  this. —  Ed. 

5  Hugh  H.  Brackenridge  was  at  this  time  the  most  prominent  lawyer  in 
Pittsburg,  whither  he  had  come  in  1781,  after  graduating  at  Princeton  and 
serving  as  chaplain  in  the  regular  army.  Brackenridge  was  a  Scotch-Irish- 
man, and  a  Democrat  in  politics;  therefore  he  sympathized  with  the  uprising 
known  as  the  Whiskey  Rebellion,  and  wrote  a  work  in  its  defense,  although  his 
influence  had  been  exercised  to  moderate  its  excesses.  Gallatin  defeated  him 
for  Congress  in  1794;  but  later  he  took  his  place  upon  the  bench  of  the  state 
supreme  court,  and  served  with  great  ability  until  his  death  in  1816. —  Ed. 

8  Physoslegia  Virginiana,  Benth. —  C.  S.  S. 


i793-I796J  Andre  Mic/iaux's  Travels  29 

the  banks  of  the  river  which  are  submerged  when  the 
waters  are  high. 

The  30th  of  the  same,  recognized  a  Plant  of  the  Genus 
Ziziphora  .  .  .  Cunila  pulegioides1  floribus  tetan- 
dris;  Teucrium  Canadense,  Eupatorium  aromaticum, 
Sigesbeckia    .     .     .;     Verbenae  several  species. 

The  1st  of  August,  herborised  and  recognized  Cassia 
Marylandica;  Monarda  didyma;  Sanicula  Marylandica; 
Triosteum  perfoliatum;  Sicyos  angulata;  Acer  rubrum, 
saccharum;  Campanula,  .  .  .  ;  Cercis  Canadensis; 
Menispermum  Canadense;  Actaea  spicata;  Tilia  Ameri- 
cana; Urtica  divaricata;  Arum  triphyllum;  Celtis  occi- 
dentalis;  Panax  quinquejolium;  Staphylea  trijoliata;  Aza- 
rum  Canadense;  Rhus  typhina,  glabra,  vernix;  copallinum, 
radicans,  toxicodendron;  Clinopodium  vulgare,  incanum. 

The  2nd  of  August  recognized  Aristolochia  sipho  or 
macrophylla;  Panax  quinquejolium;  Lobelia  siphilitica; 
Convallaria  many  species;  Veronica  .  .  .  Ozalis 
stricta. 

The  3rd  and  4th  of  August  herborised:  Cacalia  2 
species,  Phryma  leptostachia;  Leontice  thalictroides;  Lobelia 
siphilitica,  inflata,  cardinalis;  Eupatorium  perfoliatum, 
maculatum,  odoratum  et  celestinum;  Actea  spicata;  Podo- 
phyllum peltatum;  Azarum  Canadense;  Hydro phyllum 
Canadense;  Trillium  cernuum;  Panax  quinquejolium; 
Aristolochia  Sipho;  Menispermum  .  .  .  ;  Sambucus 
Canadensis  jructu  nigro;  Sambucus  .  .  .  ,  jructu 
rubro  joliis  tomentosis;  Tilia  Americana;  Laurus  Sassa- 
fras, benzoin;  Robinia  pseudocacia,  Juglans  oblonga, 
Juglans  hiccory;  Plantanus  occidentalis;  Acer  rubrum, 
saccharum;  Ulmus  .  .  .  ;  Hamamelis  .  .  .  , 
Cynoglossum  3  species;  Vitis  vulpina;  Dioscorea  jructu 

7  Hedeoma  pulegiodes,  Pers. —  C.  S.  S. 


3  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

injero;  Teucrium  Canadense;  Scrophularia  Marylandica; 
Dracocephalum  Virginianum;  Dianthera  .  .  .  ,  So- 
phora  joliis  ternis  stipulis  lato-lanceolatis  floribus  coeruleis 
vexillo  corolld  breviore;  Mimulus  ringens;  Bignonia  radi- 
cans;  Cercis  Canadensis;  Fagus  sylvatica  Americana; 
Circaea  Canadensis;  Urtica  inermis;  Erigeron  Canadense; 
Cornus  florida;  Rubus  odorata,  Rubus  occidentalis:  Pen- 
thorum  sedoides;  Cephalantus  occidentalis;  Polygonum 
aviculare,  hydropiper,  amphibium,  scandens;  Sanguinaria 
Canadensis. 

On  the  6th  of  August  I  saw  on  the  bank  of  the  Monon- 
gahela  river  opposite  Pittsburgh  a  Coal  mine  at  the  en- 
trance of  which  there  seems  to  be  a  thickness  of  15  feet 
of  that  mineral  without  admixture;  sometimes  a  ferru- 
ginous tint  can  be  distinguished  between  the  different 
layers.  In  several  spots  soft  rocks  are  to  be  found  which 
seem  good  for  use  as  whet-stones  for  large  tools;  they 
seem  to  me  to  consist  of  a  combination  of  sandy,  clayey 
and  ferruginous  particles  with  particles  of  mica  in  very 
rare  instances. 

The  soil  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pittsburgh  is  generally 
clayey,  the  calcareous  rocks  or  stones  of  a  brown  color, 
consisting  of  much  muddy  clay.  The  soil  between  the 
two  rivers  on  which  Pittsburgh  is  built,  is  alluvial ;  stones 
rounded  and  worn  by  the  rolling  of  torrents  have  even 
been  found  in  the  earth,  dug  up  while  sinking  wells  at  a 
depth  of  more  than  30  feet. 

The  9th  of  August,  when  I  was  ready  to  start,  the  con- 
ductor of  the  Boat  on  which  I  had  embarked  my  baggage 
came  to  tell  me  that  he  was  waiting  for  the  Boats  destined 
to  convey  the  troops,  especially  as  the  Boat  seemed  too 
deeply  laden  for  that  Season  when  the  Waters  are  low; 
there  was  an  appearance  of  Rain. 


1793-1796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  31 

The  10th  the  river  seems  to  be  falling. 

The  nth,  12th  and  13th  we  remained,  awaiting  the 
departure. 

The  13th  three  Boats  arrived  from  the  Illinois  belonging 
to  Mr.  Vigo.8  They  were  manned  by  about  30  French 
Canadian  or  Illinois  oarsmen. 

A  Frenchman  who  has  resided  in  America  for  14  years 
and  whose  business  consists  in  shipping  supplies  of  flour 
to  New  Orleans,  told  me  that  he  would  give  me  Letters 
for  Illinois  addressed  to  the  Commandant  of  the  Post  of 
St  Louis.  He  is  at  present  settled  in  Pittsbourgh  and  his 
name  is  Audrain.9  This  Audrain  is  said  to  be  in  partner- 
ship with  one  Louisiere  or  Delousiere  who  was  exiled 
from  France  for  having  been  concerned  in  the  plot  to 
deliver  Havre  to  the  combined  English  and  Spanish 
fleets.  This  Louisiere  is  at  present  absent  from  Pitts- 
burgh. There  is  another  Frenchman  residing  in  Pitts- 
burgh, Mr  Lucas  de  Pentareau,  an  excellent  Democrat, 
now  absent.  He  passes  for  an  educated  man  with  legal 
knowledge.10 

8  Col.  Francis  Vigo  was  a  Sardinian,  who  came  to  Louisiana  in  the  Spanish 
army.  Settling  at  St.  Louis  as  a  trader,  he  embraced  the  cause  of  American 
independence,  rendering  substantial  aid  in  many  ways  to  George  Rogers 
Clark,  in  the  latter's  Illinois  campaigns.  Vigo  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  United  States,  and  later  settled  at  Vincennes,  where  he  died  in  poverty  in 
1836.  His  just  claims  upon  the  government  were  not  settled  until  thirty  years 
after  his  death. —  Ed. 

9  A  Spanish  document  of  this  period  complains  of  Audrain  as  having  mis- 
appropriated funds  for  his  contracts,  also  charges  him  with  being  a  radical 
republican,  receiving  all  the  patriots  at  his  house,  where  dinners  were  given 
and  toasts  drunk  to  the  downfall  of  monarchy.  See  American  Historical 
Association  Report,  1896,  p.  1049. 

The  commandant  at  St.  Louis  was  Captain  Don  Zenon  Trudeau,  who  held 
the  office  from  1792-99. —  Ed. 

10  This  Frenchman  was  known  in  Pittsburg  as  J.  B.  C.  Lucas,  and  was 
appointed  associate  judge  of  Allegheny  County  in  1800.  His  Democratic 
principles  were  so  strong  that  he  brought  about  the  impeachment  of  his  col- 
league, Judge  Addison,  a  well-known  Federalist. —  Ed. 


3  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Pittsburgh  is  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers, 
Monongahela  and  Allegany;  These  two  rivers  unite  and 
form  the  Ohio  or  Belle  Riviere.  There  are  a  great  many 
more  houses  on  the  Monongahela  river  than  on  the  Alle- 
gany. The  number  of  houses  is  about  250  and  it  increases 
considerably  every  year.  The  ditches  are  still  to  be  seen 
that  served  as  the  entrenchment  of  the  Fort  built  by  the 
French  and  called  Fort  Duquesne.  The  English,  since 
that  time,  had  built  another  almost  beside  it  at  the  angle 
formed  by  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers.  It  was  built 
of  brick  and  the  Americans  are  demolishing  it  to  use  the 
bricks  in  building  the  houses  that  are  being  erected  every 
day  at  Fort  Pitt.11 

The  Americans  have  a  Fort  of  Palisades  situated  behind 
the  town  on  the  bank  of  the  Allegany  River;  it  serves  as  a 
Depot  for  the  arrival  of  the  troops  that  are  being  sent 
against  the  Savages  and  as  a  Magazine  for  the  Munitions 
sent  there  from  Philadelphia.12 

Wednesday  the  14th  of  August,  started  from  Pitts- 
bourgh  and  slept  at  a  distance  of  two  miles  only  on  the 
point  of  a  small  island  on  which  I  found  Acer  negundo, 
rubrum,  saccharum;  Evonimus  capsulis  glabris.13 

The  15th  recognized  at  20  Miles  from  Pittsburgh  Pavia 

11  The  writer  here  uses  the  term  ' '  Fort  Pitt ' '  as  the  name  of  the  town ;  the 
brick  fortification  which  was  being  demolished  was  the  one  known  by  that 
name,  built  by  Stanwix  in  1759-61.  It  stood  between  the  rivers,  below  Third, 
West,  and  part  of  Liberty  streets.  A  redoubt,  built  in  1764  as  a  part  of  these 
works,  is  still  standing,  and  has  been  restored  by  the  Pittsburg  chapter  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  whom  it  serves  as  a  museum.  See 
Frontier  Forts  0}  Western  Pennsylvania  (Harrisburg,  1896),  ii,  pp.  99-159. —  Ed. 

12  Fort  Fayette,  a  stockade  erected  in  1792  for  protection  against  the  Indians. 
It  stood  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  Fort  Pitt,  on  the  present  Penn  Street, 
at  the  crossing  of  Garrison  Avenue. —  Ed. 

13  E.  atropurpureus,  Jacq. —  C.  S.  S. 


1 793-1 796]  Andre  Michaux' s  Travels  33 

lutea,  Panax  quinque  folium;  A  Bryonia  plant  monoica 
calyce  $-fido,  corolla  5  partita  floribus  masculis  spicatis 
axillaribus  floribus  femineis  quoque  axillaribus  germine 
instructo  spinis  innocuis.1*  Our  journey  covered  28 
Miles. 

The  1 6th  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  crossed  the 
boundary  line  between  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  The 
line  is  marked  by  cutting  down  the  trees  on  a  width  of 
about  .  .  .  feet  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  Ohio  or 
Belle  Riviere  and  this  place  is  45  miles  from  Pittsbourgh. 
In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  arrived  at  Buffalo  Creek. 
79  Miles  from  Pittsburgh. 

The  17th  passed  by  Willing  [Wheeling]  92  Miles  from 
Pittsburgh;15  this  place  is  inhabited  by  about  12  families 
as  is  also  Buffalo  Creek  [Wellsburg].  Owing  to  the  con- 
trary wind  we  traveled  only  30  Miles. 

Sunday  August  18th  1793,  saw  several  flocks  of  wild 
Turkeys;  wind  contrary. 

The  19th  we  made  50  Miles.  There  are  no  settlements 
between  Willing  and  Marietta,  a  small  Town  situate  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  river.     We  slept  at  the 

M  This  is  probably  his  Sicyos  lobata  (Echinocystis  lobata  of  Torr.  and  Gray) 
which,  according  to  the  Flora,  was  detected  by  Michaux  "in  occidenlalibus 
Pensylvaniae,  juxta  fluvium  Ohio."  The  "corolla  5  partita"  is  retained  by 
Richard  in  his  description. —  C.  S.  S. 

"Wheeling  was  founded  upon  land  taken  up  by  Col.  Ebenezer  Zane  in 
1770.  During  Lord  Dunmore's  War  a  stockade  was  built  at  this  place,  called 
Fort  Fincastle;  later,  the  name  was  changed  in  honor  of  Patrick  Henry,  first 
governor  of  the  state  of  Virginia.  Fort  Henry  was  thrice  besieged  during  the 
Revolution  —  in  1777,  1781,  and  1782.  Many  romantic  incidents  are  told 
of  these  events;  most  notable,  that  of  the  sortie  for  additional  powder,  success- 
fully executed  by  Elizabeth  Zane.  Colonel  Zane  laid  out  the  place  in  town- 
lots  in  1793;  two  years  later,  the  Virginia  legislature  incorporated  it.  In  1797 
Wheeling  became  the  seat  of  Ohio  County;  and  early  in  the  nineteenth  century 
appeared  likely  to  surpass  Pittsburg  in  prosperity,  and  as  an  important  empo- 
rium for  Western  trade. —  Ed. 


34  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

place  called  Fort  Harmar,  situate  opposite  Marietta  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Muskingum  river.16  Dianthera 
americana. 

The  20th  we  spent  the  day  there. 

The  21st,  we  passed  by  Little  Kanhaway,17  Belpre,  and 
Belleville  34  Miles. 

The  22nd  we  saw  no  settlements.  Recognized  Polym- 
nia  canadensis;  Acer  rubrum  foliis  injerne  glaucis;  Acer 
negundo,  Acer  saccharum,  Acer  foliis  rugosis  nervis 
sublanuginosis;  Annona  triloba,  Pavia  lutea,  Platanus 
occidentalis . 

The  23rd  passed  Great  Kanhaway/8  4  miles  before 
arriving  at  Galliapolis  on  the  opposite  bank. 

The  23rd  we  arrived  at  the  settlement  of  Galliapolis 
situate  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Belle  riviere.  The  houses 
are  all  built  of  squared  logs  merely  notched  at  the  ends 
instead  of  being  Mortised  (Log-house).19 

The  24th  remained  over,  visited  doctor  Petit  who  in- 
spired me  with  the  greatest  respect  by  his  good  sense,  his 
knowledge  and  his  virtue.  It  seemed  to  me  that  humanity 
is  the  only  thing  that  keeps  him  attached  to  that  unfortu- 


16  The  site  for  Fort  Harmar  was  chosen  by  Gen.  Richard  Butler  (1785),  on 
his  journey  to  Cincinnati  to  make  peace  with  the  Miami  Indians.  A  detach- 
ment under  Major  Doughty  began  building  the  fort  —  named  in  honor  of 
Gen.  Josiah  Harmar  —  in  the  autumn  of  this  year;  its  completion  in  1786 
afforded  protection  to  the  frontier  inhabitants  of  Virginia.  Two  years  later 
(1788),  the  Ohio  Company  of  Associates  —  New  England  veterans  of  the 
Revolution  —  came  out  under  the  leadership  of  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,  and  began 
the  settlement  of  Marietta,  "the  Plymouth  Rock  of  the  West." —  Ed. 

17  For  the  Little  Kanawha,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series, 
note  98. —  Ed. 

18  For  the  Great  Kanawha  and  its  historical  associations,  see  Croghan's 
Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  note  101;  also  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied  Ohio. —  Ed. 

19  For  the  history  of  this  French  settlement  on  the  Ohio,  see  Journal  of 
F.  A.  Michaux,  post. —  Ed. 


I793-I796l  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  35 

nate  colony.20  Out  of  the  600  persons  who  came  there 
to  settle,  only  about  150  remain. 

Sunday  the  25th  started  from  Galliapolis;  at  a  distance 
of  35  Miles  recognized  Iresine  celosioides  on  the  banks  of 
the  belle  riviere  where  they  are  submerged  by  the  great 
inundations.  Passed  a  small  river  called  Gay  [Guyan- 
dotte].     We  saw  no  habitations;  40  Miles. 

The  26th,  saw  no  habitations;  passed  the  river  Scioto 
.     .     .     Miles.21 

The  27th,  saw  a  Settlement  of  several  houses  at  the 
place  called  Three  Islands,  ten  miles  before  arriving  at 
Lime  Stone;22  these  Settlements  are  considered  the  first 
belonging  to  Kentuckey.  We  reached  Lime  Stone  toward 
evening.23 

Limestone  is  considered  the  Landing  place  or  Port  of 
Kentuckey.  Goods  are  landed  there  that  are  sent  from 
Philadelphia  for  Danville,  Lexington  etc.  A  small  town 
founded  six  years  ago  at  a  distance  of  4  Miles  on  the 
Lexington  road,  is  called  Washington  and  is  very  flour- 
ishing being  situate  in  very  fertile  land. 

20  Jean  G.  Petit  was  the  most  prominent  man  of  this  settlement,  acting  both 
as  physician  and  judge. —  Ed. 

21  For  a  description  of  the  Scioto,  and  its  early  historical  importance,  see 
Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  note  102;  also  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied 
Ohio. —  Ed. 

22  The  Three  Islands  were  noted  landmarks  in  the  early  history  of  Ken- 
tucky. Kennedy  and  his  company  encamped  there  in  1773,  but  the  settlement 
was  in  a  dangerous  location,  as  this  was  near  an  Indian  crossing  place.  In 
1791,  twenty  men  were  told  off  to  garrison  the  settlement.  The  upper  island 
was  near  Brush  Creek,  in  Ohio.     Only  one  island  remains  at  this  place. —  Ed. 

23  Limestone  (now  Maysville)  was  long  the  chief  river  post  for  Kentucky, 
but  was  not  early  settled  owing  to  its  exposure  to  Indian  attacks.  Bullitt  and 
the  McAfees  were  there  in  1773;  Simon  Kenton  settled  farther  up  on  Limestone 
Creek  in  1776.  The  same  year,  George  Rogers  Clark  landed  at  this  place  the 
powder  provided  by  Virginia  for  the  protection  of  the  Kentucky  settlements. 
The  hrst  blockhouse  was  built  on  the  site  of  Limestone  in  1783;  four  years 
later,  the  town  was  incorporated  by  the  Virginia  legislature. —  Ed. 


36  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  28th,  visited  Colonel  Alexander  D.  Orr.24 

The  29th  I  left  the  two  Companions  who  had  come  with 
me  from  Philadelphia.  They  continued  their  journey  to 
Louisville  while  I  went  on  by  way  of  the  inland  Settle- 
ments. Colonel  D.  Orr  offered  me  his  Company  to  go 
with  him  to  Lexington  whither  he  proposed  to  go  in  a 
few  days. 

The  30th  and  31st  herborised  while  waiting  until  horses 
could  be  procured  for  the  journey  to  Lexington.  Guilan- 
dina  dioica;  Fraxinus  (quadrangular is);  Gleditsia  tria- 
canthos;  Serratula  praealta;  Eupatorium  aromaticum, 
Crepis  Sibirica?  etc. 

Sunday  1st  of  September  1793.  Dined  at  Colonel 
Lee's.25 

The  2nd  dined  with  .  .  .  Fox  and  prepared  my 
baggage  for  departure. 

The  3rd  the  journey  was  put  off  until  the  Following 
day.     The  soil  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington  is  clayey 
and  blackish,  very  rich.     The  stones  are  of  an  opaque 
bluish  calcareous  Substance,  full  of  petrifactions  of  sea-' 
shells.     The  bones  of  those  monster  animals  supposed  to 


24  Alexander  D.  Orr  was  representative  in  Congress  for  Kentucky,  from  its 
admission  and  through  the  fourth  Congress  (1792-97).  A  Virginian  by  birth 
(1765),  he  removed  to  Mason  County  at  an  early  period,  and  had  much  in- 
fluence in  his  neighborhood,  where  he  lived  as  a  planter  until  his  death,  June 
31,  1835.  Michaux's  visit  to  Colonel  Orr  is  probably  significant  of  the  fact 
that  Orr  was  interested  in  the  former's  mission. —  Ed. 

25  Gen.  Henry  Lee  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  Mason  County.  Com- 
ing to  Kentucky  as  a  surveyor  in  1779,  six  years  later  he  established  Lee's 
Station,  near  Washington  —  one  of  the  earliest  in  northeastern  Kentucky. 
Lee  was  Kentucky  delegate  in  the  Virginia  house  of  burgesses  (1788),  a  member 
of  the  convention  that  adopted  the  federal  constitution,  and  later  member  of 
the  Danville  conventions  for  organizing  the  State  of  Kentucky;  his  political 
influence,  therefore,  was  important.  Unlike  many  of  the  pioneers,  he  pros- 
pered in  business  and  amassed  a  considerable  fortune,  dying  on  his  estate  in 
1845.— Ed. 


i793-I796l  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  37 

be  Elephants  are  found  in  the  neighborhood.28  It  is  to 
be  presumed  that  those  bones  belonged  to  marine  Individ- 
uals, judging  by  the  great  abundance  of  debris  of  marine 
bodies  collected  in  those  places. 

The  4th  started  from  Washington;  passed  by  a  place 
where  the  soil  is  impregnated  with  saline  substances  and 
whither  the  Buffaloes  used  to  go  in  great  numbers  to  lick 
the  particles  of  Salt  continually  exuding  from  the  surface 
of  the  Soil.  There  are  at  this  spot  springs  whose  water 
is  bitter,  putrid,  blackish  and  full  of  mephitic  air  which 
frees  itself  at  the  slightest  movement  of  the  soil  by  the 
bubbles  appearing  on  the  surface  of  the  spring  as  one 
approaches.  The  people  living  in  the  neighborhood 
erect  ovens  with  kettles  and  extract  Salt  by  the  evapora- 
tion of  the  water.27    We  traveled  33  Miles. 

The  5th  we  made  27  miles  and,  at  an  early  hour, 
reached  Lexington,28  the  chief  town  amongst  the  Settle- 
ments of  the  State  of  Kentuckey.  We  passed  a  small 
Settlement,  looked  upon  as  a  town  and  called  Paris,  the 
capital  of  Bourbon  county.29    It  contains  about  18  houses. 

26  For  the  history  of  Big  Bone  Lick,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  note  104. —  Ed. 

27  This  was  either  May's  Lick,  in  Mason  County,  or  the  Lower  Blue  Licks, 
in  Nicholas  County.  It  is  evident  that  the  buffalo  had  nearly  disappeared 
from  this  region,  where  less  than  thirty  years  before  Croghan  had  found  them 
in  such  vast  numbers.  Butricke  {Historical  Magazine,  viii,  p.  259)  says  that 
in  1768  they  were  scarce  above  the  Scioto  River.  The  last  buffalo  was  killed 
in  the  Great  Kanawha  Valley,  about  twelve  miles  below  Charleston,  West 
Virginia,  in  18 15. —  Ed. 

28  There  is  some  doubt  thrown  upon  the  commonly-accepted  statement 
that  the  first  cabin  at  Lexington  was  built  in  1775,  and  the  place  named  in 
honor  of  the  opening  battle  of  the  Revolution,  news  of  which  had  just  been 
received.  The  permanent  settlement  was  not  made  until  1779;  the  following 
year  the  town  was  made  county  seat  of  the  newly-erected  Fayette  County,  and 
itself  incorporated  in  1782. —  Ed. 

29  Paris  was  laid  out  in  1786,  the  first  court  of  Bourbon  County  being  held 
there  in  1787.  Two  years  later,  it  was  incorporated  by  the  Virginia  legislature 
as  Hopewell;  the  present  designation  was  adopted  in  1790. —  Ed. 


3  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

There  are  farming  Establishments  along  the  road  and 
travelers  now  go  without  danger  from  Lime  Stone  to 
Lexington,  a  distance  of  Sixty  six  miles  from  one  place 
to  the  other.     66  Miles. 

The  6th  visited  two  persons  residing  in  Lexington  for 
whom  I  had  Letters  of  introduction. 

The  7th  herborised     .     .     . 

Sunday  8th  of  September  was  obliged  to  remain  being 
unable  to  hire  a  horse. 

The  9th  left  Lexington,  went  through  portions  of  forest 
lands  with  very  scattered  Plantations.  Crossed  the 
Kentuckey  river  the  banks  of  which  are  very  close  to  one 
another;  when  the  waters  are  low  there  is  a  height  of 
more  than  100  feet  from  the  bank  of  the  river  to  the  level 
of  the  lands  bordering  on  it  and  through  which  it  runs.  I 
am  told  that  in  flood-time  it  rises  to  a  height  of  40  feet 
in  one  day.  On  arriving  there  one  would  think  himself 
between  two  ranges  of  very  steep  Mountains  but  in  fact- 
it  is  merely  a  torrent  or  a  river  whose  Bed  has  been  deeply 
worn.  The  rocks  on  the  banks  are  of  a  calcareous 
nature.  Several  shrubs  and  Plants,  natives  of  Carolina, 
grow  on  the  cliff  with  a  southern  exposure  being  secured 
and  protected  from  cold  by  the  favorable  situation  offered 
by  the  great  depth  of  the  bed  of  the  river. 

The  10th  arrived  in  Danville30  and  visited  several  per- 
sons for  whom  I  had  Letters:  Colonel  Barbee  etc,  Capt. 
Peter  Tardivau,  a  witty  man31  etc.  etc. 

30  Danville  was  laid  off  as  a  town  by  Walker  Daniel  in  1781,  and  rapidly 
rose  to  importance,  being  the  centre  of  political  activity  and  the  seat  of  the 
conventions  in  which  statehood  for  Kentucky  was  agitated  (1785-92).  After 
the  admission  of  Kentucky  as  a  state,  Frankfort  was  chosen  capital,  and  the 
importance  of  Danville  declined. —  Ed. 

31  Joshua  Barbee  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  after  serving  in  the  Revolution 
removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Danville,  early  in  the  Kentucky  settlement.  He 
was  militia  officer  in  1791,  a  member  of  the  political  club  of  Danville,  and  o- 


i793-I796]  Andre  Michaux' s  Travels  39 

The  nth,  visited  General  Benjamin  Logan  whose 
house  is  situate  12  Miles  from  Danville.  I  confided  to 
him  the  Commission  entrusted  to  me;  He  told  me  he 
would  be  delighted  to  take  part  in  the  enterprise  but  that 
he  had  received  a  Letter  a  few  days  previously  from  J. 
Brown32  which  informed  him  that  negotiations  had  been 
begun  between  the  United  States  and  the  Spaniards 
respecting  the  navigation  of  the  Mississipi  and  the  Creek 
Indians;  That  a  messenger  had  been  sent  to  Madrid33 
and  that  any  one  of  the  United  States  that  would  venture 

the  state  legislature.     A  man  of  wealth  and  prominence,  his  family  became 
intimately  associated  with  Kentucky  history.     He  died  in  1839. 

Pierre  Tardiveau  was  a  French  merchant  who  had  an  extensive  business  in 
the  West,  and  connections  in  Bordeaux.  With  his  partner,  Honore,  he  car- 
ried on  trade  with  New  Orleans,  and  made  frequent  trips  thither.  Tardiveau 
embarked  in  Genet's  enterprise,  and  was  appointed  interpreter  in  chief  by 
Michaux,  who  appears  to  have  used  him  to  communicate  with  agents  in  New 
Orleans.  See  Claiborne,  Mississippi  (Jackson,  1880),  pp.  152,  153;  also 
American  Historical  Association  Report,  1896,  pp.  952,  1026,  1096.  Tardiveau 
removed  to  Louisiana  when  it  came  under  American  dominion. —  Ed. 

32  John  Brown,  one  of  Kentucky's  most  prominent  public  men,  was  born  at 
Staunton,  Virginia,  in  1757,  and  while  a  student  at  Princeton  joined  the  Revo- 
lutionary army  as  aid  to  Lafayette.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  removed  to 
Kentucky,  was  its  first  representative  to  the  old  Congress  (1787-89);  then  to 
Congress  under  the  Constitution  (1789-92),  where  he  was  employed  in  securing 
the  admission  of  Kentucky  as  a  state.  Upon  that  event  (1792),  Brown  was 
sent  to  the  United  States  Senate,  of  which  he  remained  a  prominent  member 
until  1805.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  Washington,  Jefferson  (with  whom 
he  studied  law),  and  Madison,  and  when  he  died  in  1837  was  the  last  survivor 
of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation.  Brown  was  cognizant  of  Michaux's 
plans,  and  evidently  sympathized  with  them,  having  been  interested  in  previous 
separatist  movements  for  Kentucky.  See  Butler,  Kentucky,  and  John  Mason 
Brown,  "Political  Beginnings  of  Kentucky,"  Filson  Club  Publications  No.  6. 
Brown  gave  letters  of  introduction  to  Michaux.  See  American  Historical 
Association  Report,  1896,  pp.  982,  983,  1010. —  Ed. 

33  Brown  refers  here  to  the  embassy  of  Carmichael,  and  the  negotiations 
entered  into  by  him  and  Pinckney,  the  minister  at  Madrid,  that  ultimately  led 
to  the  treaty  of  1794. 

The  Creek  Indians  lay  south  of  the  United  States  territory  in  West  Florida, 
and  were  believed  by  the  Westerners  to  be  incited  to  attacks  upon  Americans 
by  the  Spanish  authorities  of  this  province  and  of  Louisiana. —  Ed. 


40  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

to  act  in  a  hostile  manner  against  the  Spaniards  before 
the  return  of  the  first  of  December  next,  would  be  dis- 
approved by  the  federal  Government;  That  he  was  going 
to  start  the  following  day  for  his  Establishment  of  Boul- 
skine  [Bullskin]  Creek  and  that,  after  I  should  have  con- 
ferred with  General  Clark,  he  hoped  the  latter  would,  in 
consequence  of  what  I  should  communicate  to  him,  make 
arrangements  for  further  conferences  together34  etc.  etc. 

The  12th  returned  to  Danville. 

The  13th  Visited  (his  Excellency)  the  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Kentuckey,  Isaac  Shelby;35  visited  the  hills  called 

34  Michaux  went  to  what  was  known  as  St.  Asaph's,  or  Logan's  Station,  in 
Lincoln  County,  to  see  the  well-known  pioneer  and  Indian  fighter,  Gen.  Ben- 
jamin Logan.  Next  to  Clark,  Logan  was,  doubtless,  the  best  known  person  in 
Kentucky,  and  had  been  chosen  by  Genet  as  second  in  command  of  the  expe- 
dition. That  he  afterwards  decided  to  enter  upon  this  affair,  seems  evident 
from  his  letter  to  Clark  of  December  31,  1793,  in  American  Historical  Asso- 
ciation Report,  1896,  p.  1026.  Logan  was  a  Scotch-Irishman,  born  in  Virginia 
in  1743.  When  but  fourteen  his  father  died,  and  he  was  left  as  eldest  son  of 
the  family.  Having  removed  to  Holston,  he  was  out  with  Bouquet  in  1764, 
and  ten  years  later  in  Lord  Dunmore's  War.  Locating  his  station  in  Kentucky 
in  1775,  he  brought  out  his  family  the  following  year,  and  sustained  many 
Indian  attacks  as  well  as  led  several  aggressive  campaigns  against  the  savages. 
As  county  lieutenant  he  was  a  safeguard  for  the  new  settlements,  and  was 
revered  and  respected  by  all  his  neighbors.  Having  served  in  the  legislature 
and  the  convention  that  drew  up  the  Kentucky  constitution,  he  died  at  his 
home  in  Lincoln  County  in  1802. —  Ed. 

35  There  was  no  better-known  character  in  the  West,  than  Governor  Shelby. 
Born  in  Maryland  in  1750,  the  family  were  of  pioneer  stock,  and  early  moved 
to  Western  Virginia,  where  young  Shelby  was  sheriff  (1771),  and  lieutenant 
under  his  father,  Evan  Shelby,  at  the  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant  (1774).  The 
next  year  he  surveyed  in  Kentucky,  and  then  returned  to  the  Holston  to  engage 
in  the  Revolutionary  struggles.  To  his  forethought  is  attributed  the  success 
of  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  after  which  he  served  in  the  North  Carolina 
legislature.  Removing  to  Kentucky  in  1783,  Shelby  was  welcomed  as  a  hero 
by  the  new  community,  and  made  the  first  governor  of  the  State.  He  served  a 
second  term  during  the  War  of  181 2-15,  reinforcing  Harrison  at  a  critical 
juncture  for  the  Western  division  of  the  army.  Refusing  the  portfolio  of  war, 
offered  by  Monroe  in  181 7,  Shelby  retired  to  his  farm  in  Lincoln  County,  where 
he  died  in  1826.  Michaux  carried  letters  to  Shelby;  see  American  Historical 
Association  Report,  1896,  pp.  983,  984.  On  Shelby's  later  attitude  toward  the 
expedition,  see  ibid,  pp.  934,  1023,  1040,  note. —  Ed. 


I793-I796l  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  41 

Knob  Licks;38  Saw  several  Plants  especially  in  the  salt 
lands  enclosed  in  the  interior  of  the  territory  of  Ken- 
tuckey.     Andromeda  arborea. 

The  14th  left  Danville  for  Louisville,  lodged  with 
Cumberland  19  Miles  from  Danville. 

Sunday  15th  of  September  1793,  22  Miles  from  Dan- 
ville found  a  sort  of  Tragia,  a  monoecian  Plant,  fructifica- 
tion in  the  manner  of  the  Euphorbias.  Shortly  before 
reaching  Beardstown  recognized  the  rocks  and  stones  of 
calcareous  substances  possessing  all  the  forms  of  the 
Madrepores.  The  tops  of  the  Mountains  (hills)  one 
has  to  cross,  3  or  4  Miles  before  reaching  Beardstown, 
consist  entirely  of  these  petrified  madrepores.  Recog- 
nized many  Plants  not  found  elsewhere:  Fagara  of  the 
State  of  New  York;  Rhamnus  {Carolinian)  and  Rhamnus 
.  .  .  etc  etc.  The  neighborhood  would  be  very  in- 
teresting for  a  Botanist  to  visit.  Dined  at  Beardstown37 
and  slept  6  miles  further.    31  Miles. 

The  country  between  Beardstown  and  Louisville 
possesses  no  interest  for  a  Botanist. 

The  1 6th  arrived  at  Louisville  having  traveled  by  the 
new  road.38    29  Miles.     In  all  79  Miles  from  Danville. 

36  Knob  Licks,  Lincoln  County,  was  formed  as  a  settlement  in  1776  by 
Governor  Shelby.  De  Pauw,  one  of  the  French  agents,  resided  here.  See 
American  Historical  Association  Report,  1896,  pp.  977,  1002,  1023,  1102-1106. 
The  Knobs  were  a  peculiar  formation  of  detached  hillocks. —  Ed. 

37  Beardstown  (Bardstown)  was  an  important  settlement  in  early  Kentucky 
history,  established  (1788)  near  the  Salt  River  in  what  is  now  Nelson  County, 
and  named  for  the  proprietor,  David  Baird.  It  is  now  a  small  village,  although 
still  the  county  seat. —  Ed. 

38  For  the  founding  of  Louisville,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  note  106.  The  old  road  from  Bardstown  to  Louisville  went  via  the  Salt 
Works  (Shepherdsville,  Bullitt  County),  and  was  reckoned  at  forty-five  miles. 
See  Speed,  "Wilderness  Road,"  Filson  Club  Publications  (Louisville,  1886), 
p.  17.  The  new  road  was  more  direct,  went  across  country  from  Bardstown, 
and  joined  the  old  about  ten  miles  below  Louisville. —  Ed. 


42  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  17th  of  September  visited  General  Clarke.  I 
handed  him  the  Letters  from  the  Minister  and  informed 
him  of  the  object  of  my  Mission.  He  told  me  that  he  was 
very  eager  for  the  Undertaking  but  that,  although  he  had 
written  so  long  ago,  he  had  received  no  answer  and  thought 
it  had  been  abandoned.39  I  told  him  that  his  Letter  had 
fallen  into  other  hands  and  that  the  Minister  had  received 
it  only  indirectly  after  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia.  He 
informed  me  that  a  fresh  circumstance  seemed  to  oppose 
an  obstacle  to  it.40 

The  1 8th  remained  at  Louisville  and  herborised. 

The  19th  returned  to  visit  General  Clarke     .     .     . 

The  20th  started  from  Louisville,  passed  by  General 
Clarke's41  and  passed  on  to  sleep  near  Salt  river. 

The  21st  passed  by  Beardstown.  Evonimus  ramulis 
quadrangulis  capsulis  muricatis.42 

Sunday  September  22nd  arrived  once  more  at  Dan- 
ville at  5  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Wrote  to  Minister 
Genet  the  same  day  by  the  Philadelphia  Post.43 

The  23rd  I  rested. 

The  24th  started  for  Lexington  and  slept  at  the  Ken- 
tuckey  river  crossing. 

The  25th  found  that  my  horse  had  wandered  away.  I 
slept  at  an  inn  where  there  was  no  Stable;  my  horse 


39  For  the  letters  of  Genet  and  Clark,  see  American  Historical  Association 
Report,  1896,  pp.  967,  986. —  Ed. 

40  In  Clark's  letter  to  Genet,  he  seems  to  indicate  that  this  obstacle  was  the 
leaking  out  of  the  secret,  by  which  intimations  might  reach  the  Spaniards. 
Possibly  he  refers  to  the  Spanish  mission  which  caused  Logan's  hesitation; 
see  ante,  note  33;  also  American  Historical  Association  Report,  1896,  p.  1007- 
1009. —  Ed. 

41  The  home  of  Clark's  father,  with  whom  he  resided,  was  known  as  ' '  Mul- 
berry Hill,"  situated  in  the  environs  of  Louisville. —  Ed. 

42  E.  Americanus,  L. —  C.  S.  S. 

43  On  the  early  mail  routes,  see  Speed,  Wilderness  Road,  pp.  65-68. —  Ed. 


1793-1796]  Andre  Mic/iaux's  Travels  43 

jumped  over  the  fence  and  I  spent  the  whole  day  looking 
for  him. 

While  so  engaged  I  saw  on  the  sandy  beaches:  Iresine 
celosioides;  Mollugo  verticillata;  On  the  rocks;  Heuchera 
Americana;  Asplenium  rhyzophorum;  Pteris  nova;  Parie- 
taria  .  .  .  ;  Hydrangea  arborescens.  On  the  lime- 
stone mountains:  Serratula  2  unknown  species;  Cuphea 
viscosa;  Didynamia  gymnosperma  novum  genus;  Didy- 
namia  angiosperma  novum  genus.  On  the  bank  of  the 
Dickson  river,  Dirca  palustris;  Sophora  floribus  coerulis. 
In  the  shady  forests  etc:  Acer  foliis  argenteis  an  rubrum? 
Acer  saccharum;  Fraxinus  Joliolis  subintegris,  Fraxinus 
foliolis  serratis  ramis  quadrangularis;  Gleditsia  triacan- 
thos;  Guilandina  dioica,  Robinia  pseudo-acacia;  Evonimus 
ramulis  subrotundis,  capsulis  laevibus. 

The  26th  of  September  1793,  Rained  all  day;  slept  at  a 
mile  from  Kentuckey  river  at  the  house  of  .  .  . 
Hogan44  who  was  kind  enough  to  lend  me  a  horse  for 
nothing  to  go  in  search  of  mine. 

The  27th  arrived  at  Lexington  distant  only  20  Miles  from 
the  crossing  of  Kentuckey  river  called  Hickman  junction.45 

The  5th  of  October  started  from  Lexington. 

Sunday  the  6th  of  the  same  arrived  at  Danville.  The 
same  day  wrote  to  Citizen  Minister  Genet. 

The  7th  took  lodgings  at  Puvit's46  and  received  my 
baggage. 

44  James  Hogan  was  a  pioneer  of  Kentucky  who  settled  at  Bryan's  Station 
before  1779,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  its  defense  against  Indians  (1781).  He 
was  granted  (1785)  by  the  Virginia  legislature  the  right  to  maintain  a  ferry 
across  the  Kentucky  River. —  Ed. 

45  The  principal  ferry  on  the  road  from  Danville  to  Lexington  was  at  the 
mouth  of  Hickman's  Creek,  so  named  in  honor  of  the  first  Baptist  preacher  in 
Kentucky,  Rev.  William  Hickman. —  Ed. 

48  See  letter  of  this  date,  written  by  Michaux  to  Clark  (American  Historical 
Association  Report,  1896,  p.  1010),  in  which  he  gives  his  address  at  "Mte 
Isham  Prewitt,  Jefferson  County,  near  Danville." — Ed. 


44  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  10th  Sent  a  Messenger  to  Louisville.47 
The  13th  Sunday  returned  to  Lexington  and  came 
back  on  Sunday  the  20th,  to  Danville.  Not  having  re- 
ceived general  Clark's  answer  I  was  unable  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  Post  to  write  to  the  Minister  at  Philadel- 
phia. 

The  21st  received  General  Clark's  answer.48 


The  10th  of  November  1793,  Year  2  of  the  French 
Republic,  left  Danville  for  Philadelphia  after  visiting 
Colonel  George  Nicholas49  near  Danville.  He  laid  stress 
upon  the  plan  he  had  proposed  to  me  the  previous  day 
regarding  the  Navigation  of  the  Mississipi.  Namely: 
That  the  Naval  Forces  of  the  Republic  should  seize  the 
Mouth  of  the  Mississipi,  declare  that  the  Country  be- 
longed to  them  by  right  of  Conquest  and  invite  the  Ameri- 
cans of  the  Western  Country  to  take  advantage  of  the 
freedom  of  Navigation.  Then,  if  the  Spaniards  situated 
higher  up  the  river  molested  the  Vessels  carrying  the 
provisions  conveyed  by  the  Americans,  the  latter  would 
have  the  right  to  repel  Constraint  and  force  by  force. 

47  The  original  letter  sent  by  this  messenger  is  in  the  Wisconsin  Historical 
Library  (Draper  MSS.,  55  J  5),  and  is  printed  in  American  Historical  Associa- 
tion Report,  1896,  p.  1013. —  Ed. 

48  This  reply  is  given  in  American  Historical  Association  Report,  1896,  pp. 
1007-1009.  The  break  in  the  manuscript  of  Michaux's  diary  is  occasioned 
by  the  completion  of  one  blank  book  and  the  commencement  of  another. — Ed. 

49  Nicholas  was  one  of  a  famous  coterie  of  Virginia  constitutional  lawyers. 
Born  in  1743,  the  son  of  a  distinguished  lawyer,  Robert  Cary  Nicholas,  he 
served  as  captain  in  the  Revolution,  and  at  its  close  qualified  for  the  bar.  His 
services  in  the  Virginia  convention  which  adopted  the  federal  constitution, 
were  important.  Shortly  after  its  close  he  removed  to  Kentucky,  and  there 
aided  in  the  adoption  of  its  state  constitution,  which  is  reputed  to  have  been 
drawn  up  by  his  hand.  Upon  the  formation  of  the  state  government,  he  was 
chosen  first  attorney  general.  Nicholas  adopted  a  moderate  position  in  regard 
to  Western  politics;  the  scheme  here  outlined,  seems  characteristic.  In  1799 
he  was  appointed  law  professor  in  Transylvania  University,  but  died  during 
the  same  year. —  Ed. 


I793~I796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  45 

Thus  the  Spanish  Government  would  have  no  reason  to 
complain  of  the  United  States  having  broken  through 
inasmuch  as  the  country  would  be  reputed  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  French  Republic. 

Slept  at  Crab  orchard  distant  from  Danville  22  Miles. 

The  nth  of  November  1793,  started  from  Crab  Or- 
chard in  company  with  12  persons  who  had  assembled 
at  that  place  to  pass  through  the  Woods  inhabited  and 
frequented  by  the  Savages.  The  tract  between  Crab 
orchard  and  Houlston  settlement  is  130  Miles  wide  and 
is  called  The  Wilderness.50  Slept  at  Longford  Station. 
10  Miles. 

The  12th  slept  at  Modnell  Station    28  Miles. 

The  13th  slept  at  Middleton  station.     28  Miles. 

The  14th  crossed  low,  swampy  places  where  the  water 
was  brown  and  stagnant.  Six  miles  from  Middleton 
Post  and  18  miles  before  reaching  the  top  of  Cumberland 
Gap,  saw  a  climbing  fern  covering  an  area  of  over  six 
acres  of  ground  near  the  road.51  At  this  season  when  the 
Frost  had  produced  ice  from  3  to  4  lines  thick,  this  plant 
was  not  at  all  injured  by  it.  In  this  territory  are  two 
places,  one  called  Flat  lick  and  the  other  Stinking  Creek. 

Saw  near  the  Carcass  of  a  Stag  the  .  .  .  Raven 
(Corvus  cor  ax).  Davissas  station  2  miles  to  the52  .  .  . 
Cumberland  Gap53  26  Miles. 

50  Michaux  returned  to  Philadelphia  by  the  well-known  ' '  Wilderness  Road,' ' 
the  chief  means  of  exit  from  Kentucky.  Parties  frequently  waited  at  Crab 
Orchard  —  the  western  terminus  in  Lincoln  County  —  until  enough  had  gath- 
ered to  act  as  protection  against  the  Indians.  See  Speed,  "Wilderness  Road," 
Filson  Club  Publications,  No.  2  (Louisville,  1886);  also  Hulbert,  Historic 
Highways  oj  America,  vol.  vi. —  Ed. 

61  Lygodium  palmatum,  Swz. —  C.  S.  S. 

52  Three  words  are  here  frayed  away  in  the  manuscript  of  the  Journal. — 

c  s.  s. 

53  Cumberland  Gap,  in  southeastern  Kentucky,  emerging  into  Tennessee, 
was  explored  in  1750  by  Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  who  named  both  mountains  and 
river  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  son  of  George  II. —  Ed. 


46  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  15th  of  November  traveled  through  parts  of  very 
high  Mountains  in  the  midst  of  which  we  crossed  Clinch 
river  and  slept  at  Houlston  Station54  in  the  house  of  one 
.     .     .     27  Miles. 

The  1 6th  followed  the  bank  of  the  Houlston  river  and 
slept  at  the  house  of  .  .  .  Amis  Esquire,  three  Miles 
from  Hawkin  Court  house.55     26  Miles. 

Sunday  the  1 7th  the  Rain  compelled  me  to  remain  in  a 
a  small  Cabin  near  the  North  fork  of  Houlston  25  Miles. 

The  1 8th  my  horse  was  so  tired  owing  to  the  rapidity  of 
the  journey  and  the  bad  roads  across  the  Wilderness  that 

I  was  obliged  to  stop  after  a  Journey  of  only  eleven  Miles. 

II  Miles. 

The  19th  started  at  daybreak.  At  the  foot  of  the  house 
where  I  lodged,  the  Kentuckey  road  divides,56  the  right 
one  leads  to  Burke  court  house  in  North  Carolina  passing 
by  the  Mouth  of  Wataga  river;  the  other  leads  to  Abington 
court  house,  the  first  town  of  Virginia.  As  my  horse  was 
still  tired,  I  made  only  20  miles. 

The  20th  I  made  15  Miles  \  arrived  at  Abington.57 
The  21st  I  slept  22  Miles  from  Abington  near  Seven 
Miles  Ford,  the  middle  Branch  of  the  Houlston. 

64  The  Clinch  and  Holston  rivers  are  upper  waters  of  the  Tennessee,  in 
southwestern  Virginia  and  northeastern  Tennessee.  The  settlements  in  these 
valleys  were  among  the  first  on  the  west-flowing  streams.  See  map  in  Turner, 
"State  Making  in  the  Revolutionary  Era,"  in  American  Historical  Review, 
i,  p.  74.—  Ed. 

55  Both  of  these  stations  are  mentioned  in  an  early  journal;  see  Speed,  Wilder- 
ness Road,  p.  21.    The  first  was  the  seat  for  Hawkins  County,  Tennessee. —  Ed. 

66  The  forks  of  the  road  was  at  the  junction  of  the  north  and  south  forks 
of  the  Holston  River,  near  the  present  town  of  Kingsport,  Sullivan  County, 
Tennessee. —  Ed. 

67  Abingdon,  originally  known  as  Wolf  Hills,  was  one  of  the  earliest  settle- 
ments in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  the  seat  of  Washington  County.  It  was 
established  as  a  town  in  1778.  It  is  still  the  county  seat,  and  a  station  on  the 
Norfolk  &  Western  Railway. —  Ed. 


I793"I796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  47 

The  22nd  of  November  1793  crossed  Seven  Miles  ford. 
The  Holston  river  consists  of  three  principal  Branches, 
namely:  North  fork,  Seven  Miles  fork  and  South  fork 
of  Holston  river. 

In  the  space  of  six  miles  after  crossing  that  little  river, 
observed  on  the  northern  Hills  bordering  several  small 
rivers  the  Pinus  abies  canadensis,  Thuya  occidentalism 
Rhododendron  maximum  and  also  Magnolia  acuminata 
in  places  where  the  soil  is  very  rich:  Fagus  chinquapin; 
clayey  soil,  ferruginous  Quartz  rocks,  Slates  rare  and 
lime  Stones  sometimes  interveined  with  white  Quartz; 
grey  Squirrel  (forgot  to  mention  that,  in  passing  Abing- 
ton,  saw  a  Tortoise  8  inches  in  diameter  petrified  in  a 
black  calcareous  substance  like  the  Rocks  abounding  in 
the  territory)     Our  day's  journey  was  23  miles. 

The  23rd  of  November  slept  in  the  house  of  a  German. 
During  the  night  my  horses  strayed  away.  Between 
Abington  and  With  Court  house58  among  the  Mountains 
Abies  canadensis  and  Thuya  occidentalis. 

Sunday  the  24th,  passed  by  With  Court  house  and  at 
about  18  Miles  in  the  steep  Mountains  observed  Pinus 
Strobus,  Pinus  foliis  ternis  (pitch  pine)  Pinus  foliis 
geminis  .  .  .  ,  Pinus  abies  canadensis,  Rhododen- 
dron maximum,  Kalmia  latijolia,  Gaultheria  procumbens, 
Epigea  repens:  In  more  arid  places,  Fagus  chinquapin, 
Fagus  castanea  americana,  Fagus  sylvatica  americana, 
Andromeda  arborea,  Hypericum  Kalmianum.  Among 
the  damp  rocks  or  those  watered  by  the  streams;  Rocks  of 
silex  and  also  of  agate  slightly  transparent. 

From  Seven  Miles  ford  to  With  Court  house  36  Miles. 

68  Wytheville,  near  the  centre  of  the  county  of  that  name,  and  its  county 
seat. —  Ed. 


48  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  25th  crossed  the  ferry  called  Peper's  ferry59  on  the 
New  River  and  afterward  crossed  from  the  West  to  the 
East  side  of  the  Alleganies;  slept  on  a  branch  of  James 
river  called  Catawba  which  flows  eastward  while  the 
New  River  flows  West  of  the  Mountains. 

The  26th  continued  on  my  way  to  Botetort  Court  house 
30  miles. 

The  27th  passed  by  Botetort  Court  house60  and  by  the 
south  Branch  of  the  James  River  12  miles  from  Botetort. 

The  28th  passed  by  Lexington61  40  miles  distant  from 
Botetort  and  by  the  north  branch  of  James  river  to  one 
Mile  from  Lexington.     Thuya  occidentalism  Pinus  Strobus. 

The  29th  of  November,  remained  in  Mac  DowalFs 
house;62  my  horse's  leg  was  so  swelled  that  he  could  not 
walk. 

The  30th  journeyed  27  miles. 

Sunday  the  first  of  December  1793  passed  by  Stanton, 
a  small  and  rather  flourishing  town  situate  120  Miles 
from  Richemont  and  75  Miles  from  Botetort. 


63 


69  The  early  route  through  the  Virginia  Valley  crossed  New  River  at  Ingles's 
Ferry,  a  short  distance  west  of  Blacksburg,  Montgomery  County.  A  new 
road  shortened  the  distance  and  crossed  the  New  River  about  five  miles  farther 
up  the  stream,  at  a  ferry  operated  by  the  pioneer  family  of  Pepper.  They 
are  alluded  to  in  the  Draper  MSS.,  Wisconsin  Historical  Library,  i  QQ  97. —  Ed. 

60  Botetourt  Court  House,  now  Fincastle,  the  seat  of  Botetourt  County 
(established  in  1769),  was  laid  off  as  a  town  in  1772  on  land  donated  for  the 
purpose  by  Israel  Christian.  It  was  named  for  the  ancestral  seat  of  Lord 
Botetourt,  an  early  governor  of  Virginia. —  Ed. 

61  Lexington  was  established  by  law  in  1777  as  county  seat  for  Rockbridge, 
then  newly-formed  out  of  Augusta  and  Botetourt.     See  ante,  note  28. —  Ed. 

62  Col.  James  McDowell,  who  lived  near  Fairfield,  Rockbridge  County, 
was  a  descendant  of  the  Scotch-Irish  settler,  Capt.  John  McDowell,  who  came 
to  the  valley  as  a  surveyor  in  1737,  and  was  killed  in  the  first  Indian  fight 
therein  (1742). —  Ed. 

63  The  present  roads  through  the  Valley  of  Virginia  follow  the  course  de- 
scribed by  Michaux,  passing  through  the  same  towns.  Staunton  is  one  of  the 
earliest  towns  of  the  region,  having  been  settled  in  1732  by  John  Lewis,  a  Scotch- 


1 793-1 796]  Andre  Mic /mux's  Travels  49 

The  2nd  passed  by  Rockyham  or  Rockytown64  20 
miles  distant  from  Stanton. 

The  3rd  passed  by  Woodstock,65  another  small  town  37 
Miles  from  Rockytown.  Between  Stanton  and  Wood- 
stock the  country  is  mountainous,  the  soil  rather  fertile, 
of  a  clayey  nature,  with  calcareous  rocks  called  Blue 
limestone;  Quercus  rubra,  alba;  Fagus  chinquapin  and 
Pinus  foliis  geminis,  conis  squamis  rigidis  et  aculeatis. 
Three  miles  before  reaching  that  town,  on  the  North  of  a 
Hill  on  the  road,  Thuya  occidentalism  Pinus  foliis  geminis, 
Juniper  us  Virginiana. 

The  4th  started  from  Woodstock,  passed  by  New- 
town.66 

The  5th  passed  by  Winchester,67  35  Miles  from  Wood- 
stock, formerly  called  Miller' stown. 

Irishman,  whose  sons  Andrew  and  Charles  were  among  the  most  prominent 
borderers.  Andrew  commanded  the  Sandy  Creek  expedition  in  1756;  and  at 
the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant  in  1774,  where  Charles  was  slain.  Staunton  was 
laid  out  as  a  town  in  1748,  at  the  ' '  Beverly  Mill  Place,' '  but  was  not  established 
by  act  of  legislature  until  1761. —  Ed. 

64  This  town  is  generally  known  as  Harrisonburg,  from  its  founder,  Thomas 
Harrison  (1780).  The  county  of  Rockingham  was  erected  in  1778,  and  held 
its  first  court  at  the  house  of  Daniel  Smith,  which  was  two  miles  north  of 
Harrisonburg. —  Ed. 

65  The  upper  or  northern  portion  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia  was  first  settled 
by  German  emigrants  from  Pennsylvania.  Woodstock  was  laid  off  as  a  town 
by  Jacob  Miller,  and  established  by  law  in  1761. —  Ed. 

66  Newtown,  or  Stephensburg,  was  founded  by  Lewis  Stephens  on  the  site 
of  his  father's  first  claim.  Peter  Stephens  came  to  Virginia  in  1732,  with  Joist 
Hite,  an  early  settler  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  Valley.  His  son  estab- 
lished the  town  in  1758,  it  being  called  Newtown  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
older  Winchester.     Newtown  is  now  a  small  hamlet,  without  a  post-office. —  Ed. 

67  Winchester  was  built  upon  Lord  Fairfax's  grant  in  1752.  In  1738  there 
were  two  cabins  at  this  place,  which  was  then  called  ' '  Shawnee  Springs,' '  and 
was  the  frontier  outpost  in  that  direction.  The  population  was  a  mixture  of 
Germans  and  Scotch-Irishmen.  Col.  James  Wood  is  accredited  with  the 
foundation  of  the  town  of  Winchester. —  Ed. 


50  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  6th  passed  by  Charlestown68  22  Miles  from  Win- 
chester. Passed  by  Harspur  ferry69  across  the  Potomack 
river  8  miles  from  Charleston  and  entered  Maryland. 

The  7th  passed  by  Fredericktown70  20  Miles  from  Har- 
spur ferry  (Potomack  river)  and  50  miles  from  Winches- 
ter. 

Sunday  the  8th  passed  by  Woodberry  and  Littletown71 
35  Miles  from  Fredericktown. 

The  9th  passed  by  Hanover,  formerly  MacAllister- 
town72  42  miles  from  Fredericktown  and  by  Yorktown 
18  Miles  from  MacAllistertown  now  Hanover  town. 

The  10th  passed  by  the  Susquehanna  river  and  entered 


68  Charlestown,  in  what  was  then  Berkeley  County,  but  now  the  seat  for 
Jefferson  County,  West  Virginia,  was  laid  off  (1786)  upon  his  own  land  by 
Col.  Charles  Washington,  brother  of  the  general,  and  christened  from  his  own 
Christian  name. —  Ed. 

89  Harper's  Ferry  takes  its  name  from  the  first  settler,  Robert  Harper, 
who  formed  part  of  the  German  emigration  of  1734.  Washington  perceived 
the  strategic  importance  of  this  place,  and  recommended  it  as  the  site  of  a 
national  arsenal. —  Ed. 

70  Frederick  City,  Maryland,  was  laid  out  in  1745  by  Patrick  Dulany,  and 
named  in  honor  of  the  sixth  Lord  Baltimore.  The  first  house,  however,  was 
not  erected  on  this  site  until  1 748,  when  it  became  the  seat  of  the  newly-erected 
Frederick  County.  Most  of  the  early  settlers  were  Germans,  with  an  admix- 
ture of  Scotch-Irish.  At  Frederick  the  road  from  Virginia  crossed  the  National 
Road  from  Baltimore  to  Wheeling. —  Ed. 

71  Woodsboro  is  a  small  village  in  Frederick  County,  Maryland.  Littles- 
town,  in  Adams  County,  Pennsylvania,  was  laid  out  in  1765  by  one  of  the  early 
German  settlers  of  the  region,  called  Peter  Klein  (Little).  It  was  frequently 
called  Petersburg  in  the  earlier  days.  It  is  now  a  small  station  on  the  Freder- 
icksburg branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railway. —  Ed. 

72  Hanover,  York  County,  Pennsylvania,  was  laid  out  upon  a  tract  granted 
by  Lord  Baltimore  to  John  Digges  in  1728.  The  proprietors  of  Maryland 
claimed  this  region,  and  Digges  settled  a  number  of  German  immigrants  upon 
his  tract  of  10,000  acres,  which  was  known  as  "Digges's  Choice."  A  Scotch- 
Irishman,  Richard  McAllister,  emigrated  thither  about  1749  and  acquired 
great  influence  over  the  German  settlers  of  the  neighborhood,  where  he  kept 
a  store  and  tavern.  He  laid  out  the  town  and  named  it  Hanover  in  1763  or 
1764. —  Ed. 


i793-I796]  Andre  Michanx  s  Travels  51 

Pennsylvania  eleven  miles  from  Yorktown.73  Passed 
Lancaster  1 2  miles  from  Harris  ferry  on  the  Susquehanna 
river  and  24  miles  from  York.74 

The  nth  of  December  1793  traveled  30  Miles. 

Thursday  the  12th,  arrived  in  Philadelphia  66  miles 
from  Lancaster. 

The  13th  visited  Citizen  Genet,  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  French  Republic. 

[  The  14th  Visited  Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr.  Rittenhouse75 
and 

Sunday  the  15th;  Recapitulation  of  the  journey,  namely: 
From  Danville  to  Lincoln  ....  12  miles 
From  Lincoln  to  Crab  Orchard  . 
From  Crab  Orchard  to  Langford  Station 
From  Langford  to  Modrell  Station 
Modrell  to  Middleton  Station 
Middleton  to  Cumberland  Gap  . 
Cumberland  to  Davisses  Station 
Davisses  to  Houlston 
Houlston  to  Hawkin  Court  house 


10 
10 

28 

28 

24 

2 

27 
22 


73  Michaux  is  mistaken  in  placing  the  Pennsylvania  boundary  so  far  north, 
as  he  had  entered  that  state  before  reaching  Littlestown.  This  territory,  how- 
ever, had  been  in  dispute  between  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  but  was  settled 
by  the  running  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  in  1763.  York  was  not  settled  on  the 
lands  of  the  Penn  estate  until  1741,  when  there  were  2,000  settlers  within  the 
bounds  of  what  is  now  York  County.  The  town  became  an  incorporated 
borough  in  1785. —  Ed. 

74  For  the  early  history  of  Harris  Ferry,  see  Post's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  note  73. —  Ed. 

78  Dr.  Daniel  Rittenhouse  was  one  of  America's  best  known  scientists.  Born 
in  Pennsylvania  in  1732,  his  talent  for  mathematics  early  manifested  itself, 
and  he  became  a  clock  and  instrument  maker,  and  finally  an  astronomer  of 
much  repute.  He  held  important  positions  in  the  new  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  its  treasurer  (1777-89),  also  first  director  of  the  United  States  mint.  Ritten- 
house was  employed  to  settle  the  boundary  between  Virginia  and  his  own 
state,  and  during  1784-85  was  in  service  in  the  field,  directing  the  running  of 
the  line.  He  succeeded  Franklin  as  president  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  in  1790,  retaining  the  office  until  his  death  in  1796. — Ed. 


5  2                       Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Hawkinto     .     .     .    Amis          ...  3  miles 

Amis  to  North  Fork  of  Houlston           .         .  25 

North  fork  to  Carolina  fork         .         .         .  31 
From  the  fork  to  Abington  formerly  Washington 

Court  House  in  Virginia 
From  Abington  to  Seven  Mile  ford 
From  seven  Mile  ford  to  With  Courthouse 

From  With  Court  house  to  Peper  ferry           .  t>3 

From  Peper  ferry  to  Botetout  Court  house     .  50 

From  Boteton  to  James  River  South  fork       .  12 

From  James  river  South  fork  to  Lexington     .  28 

From  Lexington  to  Stanton          .         .         .  35 

From  Stanton  to  Rockytown       ...  20 

From  Rocky  ham  to  Woodstock  .         .         .  37 

From  Woodstock  to  Winchester            .         .  35 

From  Winchester  to  Charleston  .         .         .  22 

From  Charleston  to  Harpur  ferry  or  Potomack  8 

From  Potomack  to  Fredericktown        .         .  20 

From  Fredericktown  to  Littletown       .         .  35 
From  Littletown  to  Hanover  formerly  MacAlis- 

ter        ......         .  7 

From  Hanover  to  Yorktown        .         .         .  18 

From  York  to  Susquehanna,  Harris  ferry      .  1 1 

From  Susquehanna  to  Lancaster          .         .  12 

From  Lancaster  to  Philadelphia           .         .  66 


Total  746  Miles 

From  Danville  to  Lexington  33  Miles 

From  Danville  to  Louisville77      ...         84 


(  c 


78  The  manuscript  is  so  frayed  that  the  figures  for  these  two  distances  are 
destroyed.     The  footing  requires  60  M.  for  the  two. —  C.  S.  S. 

"Michaux  remained  in  Philadelphia  until  February  9,  1794,  chiefly  occu- 
pied with  his  botanical  pursuits,  and  in  getting  his  accounts  audited.     Proceed- 


i793-J796]  Andre  Mic /mux's  Travels  53 

The  30th  Germinal  in  the  3rd  year  of  the  French  Re- 
public One  and  Indivisible  (Sunday  19th  of  April  1795 
old  style)  started  to  go  and  herborise  in  the  high  Mountains 
of  the  Carolinas  and  afterward  to  visit  the  Western  ter- 
ritories. Plants  seen  before  arriving  at  Monk's  corner: 
Heuchera  .  .  .  ,  Vicia  2  species,  Smilax  herbacea 
erecta,  Melampodium?  .  .  .  Polygonum  necessarian 
Silene  Virginica,  Phlox  lanceolata  then  in  flower,  Vale- 
riana.    Slept  at  45  Mile  House. 

The  10th  Floreal  (20th  of  April,)  around  forty  five 
Mile  house,  Valeriana;  3  Miles  before  reaching  Neilson's 
ferry  Gnaphalium  dioicuin,  Uvularia  ?  On  the  said  20th 
of  April  a  new  tree  of  the  Santee  river,  elm-leaved,  fructus 
muricati  capsula  muricata,  semen  unicum  subovatum.78 

These  seeds  were  then  almost  ripe;  Celtis  occidentalis 
flowers     .     .     .79    and  lower  male  flowers. 

Slept  77  Miles  from  Charleston. 

The  2 1  st  of  April  noticed  on  the  Santee  High-hills: 
Phlox  with  white  flowers  and  Phlox  with  pink  flowers, 
two  different  species,  very  small  Phlox  with  lance  shaped 
leaves;  Saw  in  the  neighborhood  of  Monk's  corner  Lupi- 
nus  hirsutus  in  flower.  Dined  with  Dr  .  .  .  ;  slept 
at  Statesboroug. 

The  22nd  passed  by  Cambden;  five  miles  beyond,  a  new 
Kalmia;  it  was  not  yet  in  flower.  Slept  10  Miles  beyond 
Cambden. 


ing  south  on  horseback,  he  arrived  at  Charleston  March  14,  1794,  where  he 
consulted  with  the  French  consul,  Mangourit,  concerning  the  Florida  portion 
of  the  expedition  against  French  territory.  See  American  Historical  Associa- 
tion Report,  1897,  pp.  569-679.  Upon  the  collapse  of  this  project,  Michaux 
undertook  a  botanizing  tour  to  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  from  July 
14,  to  October  2,  1794.  Upon  his  return,  he  had  an  attack  of  fever  for  "more 
than  six  weeks,' '  and  passed  the  remainder  of  the  winter  in  arranging  his  garden 
and  classifying  his  plants. — Ed. 

78  Planera  aquatica,  Gmel.  (P.  Gmelini,  Michx.). —  C.  S.  S. 

79  A  word  here  is  illegible  in  the  manuscript. —  C.  S.  S. 


54  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  23rd  of  April  passed  by  Flat  rock,  by  Hanging 
rock  Creek  and  slept  at  Cane  Creek,  Lancaster  county, 
in  the  house  of  a  Mr  May ;  my  horse  strayed  away  during 
the  night  and  following  his  traces  it  was  found  that  he 
had  passed  by  Mr  Lee's. 

The  24th  I  was  obliged  to  look  for  him  all  day.  Mr 
Lee  also  sent  his  son  and  his  negro  to  search  for  him. 
He  procured  me  a  Horse  to  go  on  my  quest  and  after- 
ward invited  me  to  lodge  with  him;  he  overwhelmed  me 
with  civilities.80 

The  25th,  the  horse  came  to  Mr  Lee's  house  of  his 
accord.  Plants  on  the  creek:  Dodecatheon  Meadia, 
Asarum  Canadense,  Claytonia  Virginica,  Erythronium 
dens-leonis. 

Sunday  26th  of  April,  started  from  Cane  Creek,  passed 
by  Land'sford  on  the  Catawba  river.  But  the  real  road 
is  from  Cane  Creek,  ask  for  Colonel  Crawford's  house  or 
Plantation  on  the  Waxsaw,  then  pass  MacClean  Hands 
ferry  on  the  Catawba;  Thence  straight  to  the  Iron  works 
called  Hill's  Iron  Works  operated  by  Colonel  Hill.81 

Thus  from  Cane  Creek  to  Waxsaw  .  .  .  Miles; 
From  Waxsaw  to  Iron  Works,  York  county    .     .     . 

The  27th  passed  Iron  Works  about  32  miles  from  Cane 
Creek. 


80  Probably  this  was  Thomas  Lee,  son  of  a  Revolutionary  patriot,  and 
usually  a  dweller  in  Charleston.  In  1792,  however,  he  married  and  afterwards 
lived  for  some  time  on  his  estate  in  the  up-country.  Born  in  Charleston  in 
1769,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1790,  and  later  was  assistant  judge  (1804-16), 
and  United  States  district  judge  (1823-39).  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
South  Carolinians  of  his  day. —  Ed. 

81  These  were  the  most  important  iron-works  in  the  state;  their  owner  had 
invented  an  improved  water-blast,  and  had  a  forge,  furnace,  rolling  mill,  and 
nail  factory. —  Ed. 


i793-I796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  55 

The  28th  passed  by  Armstrong82  ford  on  the  south 
branch  of  the  Catawba,  12  miles  from  Iron  Works. 

The  same  day  passed  by  the  dwelling  of  Bennet  Smith 
where  there  is  a  .  .  .  Magnolia,  12  Miles  from 
Armstrong  ford. 

The  29th  passed  by  Lincoln,83  12  Miles  from  Bennet 
Smith's  and  36  miles  from  Iron  Works. 

Thursday  30th  of  April  passed  by  the  dwelling  of  Old 
man  Wilson84  9  miles  from  Lincoln  and  6  Miles  from 
Robertson's.  Reached  Morganton85  30  Miles  from  Rob- 
ertson. 

The  1st  of  May  spent  the  day  at  Morganton  and  her- 
borised in  the  neighborhood. 

The  2nd  spent  the  day  at  Colonel  Avery's,86  4  miles 
from  Morganton. 

82  Col.  Martin  Armstrong  .was  a  Revolutionary  soldier  in  command  of  the 
local  militia,  and  much  engaged  in  the  war  against  the  Tories.  After  the 
battle  of  King's  Mountain,  he  took  over  the  command  from  Benjamin  Cleve- 
land.—  Ed. 

83  Lincolnton  is  the  seat  of  Lincoln  County,  which  was  originally  part  of  Ty- 
ron.  The  name  was  changed  in  1779  in  honor  of  the  patriot  leader,  Gen. 
Benjamin  Lincoln.  This  entire  region  was  a  centre  of  agitation  for  indepen- 
dence; and  in  1780  a  fierce  battle  between  Whigs  and  Tories  was  fought  at 
Ramsour's  Mills,  near  Lincolnton. —  Ed. 

84  Probably  this  was  Capt.  Zaccheus  Wilson,  a  Scotch-Irish  resident  of 
this  region  who  migrated  thither  from  Pennsylvania  between  1740  and  1750. 
Wilson  was  an  ardent  patriot,  a  member  of  the  Mechlenburg  convention  in 
1775,  of  the  provincial  congress  of  the  state  the  following  year,  and  a  captain 
at  King's  Mountain  in  1780.  In  1796  he  followed  his  brother  David  to  Ten- 
nessee, where  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1823  or  1824. —  Ed. 

85  Morganton  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  mountainous  district  of  North  Caro- 
lina, having  been  founded  during  the  Revolution,  and  named  in  honor  of  Gen. 
Daniel  Morgan.  The  settlers  of  this  region  were  largely  Scotch-Irish,  who  had 
emigrated  from  Pennsylvania  by  way  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia. —  Ed. 

86  Col.  Waightstill  Avery  was  of  New  England  origin,  born  in  Connecticut 
in  1743.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  was  graduated  at  Princeton,  and  after 
studying  law  in  Maryland  removed  to  North  Carolina  in  1769.  He  was  very 
influential  in  the  upper  country,  a  member  of  the  Mechlenburg  convention  of 
1775,  and  of  the  state  provincial  congress  the  following  year.     After  a  campaign 


5  6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Sunday  3rd  of  May  started  for  the  Mountains;  at  a 
distance  of  14  Miles  from  Burke  is  Wagely's  house. 

The  Lineville  Mountains  at  whose  foot  this  house  is 
situated,  abound  in  Magnolia  auriculata.  They  were 
then  in  flower.  From  Wagely's  to  Captain  Young's  is  8 
Miles. 

The  4th  of  May  left  Young's.  The  distance  to  Ains- 
wort's  is  2  Miles  but  by  going  to  the  right  one  reaches  the 
foot  of  a  very  high  Mountain  3  Miles  from  Young's. 
The  summit  is  5  Miles  from  Young's. 

From  the  summit  of  the  Mountain  at  Young's  to 
Bright's,  called  Bright's  Settlement,  the  distance  is  3 
Miles  and  from  Bright's  to  Davin  Port's  2  Miles,  making 
10  Miles  in  all  from  Young's  to  Davin  Port's.87 

The  5th  of  May  herborised  in  the  vicinity  of  the  dwell- 
ings of  Davin  Port  and  Wiseman. 

The  6th  started  for  the  Mountains,  namely:  Round 
[Roan]  Mountain  and  Yellow  Mountain;  Toe  River 
flows  between  these  Mountains.  All  the  Convallaria 
were  in  flower  as  well  as  the  Podophyllum  diphyllum  and 
umbellatum. 

Sunday  10th  of  May  1795  returned  from  the  Mountains 
to  the  dwelling  of  Davin  Port. 

against  the  Cherokees,  he  was  commissioned  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  this 
tribe  in  1777.  During  the  war  Colonel  Avery  was  in  active  service  as  a  militia 
officer;  at  its  close  he  settled  four  miles  from  Morganton,  calling  his  planta- 
tion "Swan  Ponds."  Five  times  Burke  County  sent  him  to  the  state  legisla- 
ture, and  in  1796  to  the  senate.  Andrew  Jackson  challenged  Avery  to  a  duel 
in  1788,  but  later  became  his  firm  friend.     He  died  about  182 1. —  Ed. 

87  Michaux  followed  the  well-known  Bright's  trace,  by  which  communi- 
cation was  maintained  between  the  settlements  of  East  Tennessee  and  those 
of  Western  North  Carolina.  Over  this  road  came  the  men  who  won  the  victory 
at  King's  Mountain  in  1780.  Bright's  place  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Avery  family.  Martin  Davenport  resided  at  a  noted  spring  not  far  from  Toe 
River,  in  Mitchell  County,  North  Carolina.  He  was  a  well-known  Whig; 
his  son  William  became  a  man  of  prominence,  several  times  representing  his 
county  in  the  state  legislature. —  Ed. 


i793_I796]  Andre  Mic /mux's  Travels  57 

The  nth  herborised  on  the  Mountains  facing  the 
dwelling.  The  distance  to  the  summit  of  the  Bleue 
Ridges  at  the  part  called  Rompback  is  about  3  Miles;  on 
the  first  Mountains  are  to  be  seen  in  very  great  abundance 
the  Azalea  joliis  apice  glandulosis,  Azalea  lutea.  There 
is  no  other  Azalea  on  the  Hills  surrounding  the  dwellings 
of  Davin  Port  and  Wiseman  but  this  yellow-flowered 
species.  That  on  the  River  banks  is  generally  that  with 
carnation  flowers  and  that  with  white  flowers.88 

The  12th  ascended  the  summit  of  the  Blueridges, 
Rhododendron  minus  in  flower,  Cypripedium  Luteum. 

The  13th  of  May  started  to  continue  my  journey.  At 
Noon  arrived  at  the  foot  of  Yellow  Mountain  10  Miles. 
In  the  evening  came  to  sleep  at  the  house  of  John  Miller 
12  Miles  from  the  Mountain.  Thus  there  are  22  Miles 
from  Davin  Port's  to  Miller's;  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile 
one  commences  to  cross  Doe  River. 

The  14th  followed  and  crossed  Doe  river  27  times.  It 
is  dangerous  when  the  waters  are  high.  Slept  at  the 
house  of  Colonel  Tipton,89  20  Miles  from  Miller's. 

The  15th  passed  by  Johnsboroug90  10  Miles  from 
Colonel  Tipton's  dwelling  and  84  Miles  from  Burke  Court 
house.  Slept  at  the  house  of  Anthony  Moore  near  Noley- 
chukey  river.     During  the  night  my  horse  strayed  away. 

88  Rhododendron  arborescens,  Torrey. —  C.  S.  S. 

89  Col.  John  Tipton  was  one  of  the  noted  pioneers  of  Tennessee.  Born  in 
Virginia,  he  early  removed  to  Eastern  Tennessee,  and  was  engaged  in  the 
defense  of  the  frontier.  Upon  the  inauguration  of  the  state  of  Franklin,  Tipton 
joined  the  North  Carolina  party,  and  a  fierce  factional  struggle  ensued,  which 
culminated  in  the  arrest  of  Colonel  Sevier  by  Tipton's  agency.  Tipton  lived 
east  of  Jonesborough,  on  Sinking  Creek. —  Ed. 

80  Jonesborough  is  the  oldest  town  in  Tennessee,  having  been  founded  in 
1779  and  named  in  honor  of  Willie  Jones,  Esq.,  an  active  patriot  of  Halifax, 
North  Carolina,  and  a  warm  friend  of  the  Western  counties.  Jonesborough 
was  the  first  capital  of  Washington  District,  and  is  still  the  seat  of  Washington 
county. —  Ed. 


5  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  1 6th,  Sunday  17th,  &  18th  were  spent  in  search- 
ing for  my  horse. 

The  19th  bought  another  horse  for  the  price  of  fifty 
Dollars  from  an  inhabitant  of  Noley  Chukey  river  named 
.  .  .  Earnest,  a  neighbor  of  one  Andrew  Fox.  The 
Magnolia  tripetala  abounds  on  the  banks  of  Noley 
Chukey. 

Wednesday  20th  of  May,  passed  by  Green  Court  house 
27  Miles  from  John's  Borough  and  the  road  to  Kentuckey, 
taking  the  right  hand  and  passing  by  .  .  .  ferry  on 
the  Holston  river.  Continuing  straight  on  the  road  leads 
to  Knoxville.  By  going  to  the  left  a  little  before  Green 
the  road  leads  to  Frenchbroad.91  The  distance  from 
John  Borough  to  Green  Court  house  is  27  Miles. 

The  2 1  st  passed  by  Bull's  Gap  18  Miles  from  Green.92 

The  22nd  passed  by  Iron  Works93  30  Miles  from  Bull's 
gap.  The  distance  to  the  river  called  Houlston  river  is 
only  four  miles.  Two  miles  from  Iron  Works  is  a  Rock 
of  mineral,  pieces  whereof  on  being  crushed  and  reduced 
to  powder  dye  cotton  red ;  this  mineral  is  boiled  etc. 

The  23rd  as  my  horse  was  injured  I  was  obliged  to 
remain  a  Mile  from  Iron  Works  on  Mossy  Creek  at  the 
house  of  one  Newman.  Near  his  house  {%  mile)  is  to 
be  found  the  mineral  that  I  take  to  be  Antimony. 

Sunday  24th,  arrived  at  Colonel  King's  on  the  Houl- 

81  Greene  Court  House  is  now  Greeneville,  seat  of  Greene  County.  From 
here  two  roads  branch  off,  that  to  the  right  toward  Cumberland  Gap  and  Ken- 
tucky; that  to  the  left  through  Newport  and  Sevierville,  along  the  French 
Broad  Valley.  Michaux  took,  as  he  says,  the  right  hand  road,  leaving  it,  how- 
ever, beyond  Russelville,  and  continuing  by  this  upper  and  less  frequented 
road  to  Knoxville. —  Ed. 

82  Bull's  Gap  is  a  pass  in  Bay's  Mountain,  between  Jefferson  and  Greene 
counties,  named  probably  for  Captain  Bull,  an  early  pioneer. —  Ed. 

83  This  was  one  of  the  earliest  forges  in  Tennessee;  it  was  in  Jefferson  County, 
not  far  from  Mossy  Creek. —  Ed. 


1793~I796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  59 

ston  river  at  the  place  called  Macby  ferry94  15  Miles  from 
Iron  Works. 

The  25th  crossed  the  ferry  and  arrived  at  Knoxville  15 
miles  from  Macby  ferry,  the  residence  of  the  Governor  of 
the  Western  territories,  no  Miles  from  Johnsborough.95 
Plants  and  Trees  of  the  Territory  of  Knoxville  and  of  the 
neighboring  country:  Quercus  prinus  saxosa;  Quercus 
prinus  humilis;  Quercus  rubra;  Quercus  proemorsa;  Quer- 
cus tomentosa;  Quercus  pinnatifida;  Quercus  alba  .  .  . 
Uhnus  viscosa;  Ulmus  fungosa;  Fraxinus  .  .  .  Dio- 
spiros  Virginiana;  Liquidambar  styraciflua;  Juglans  nigra, 
alba  or  oblonga,  hiccory  pignut.  Platanus  occidentalis ; 
Nyssa  aquatica;  Fagus  castanea  americana;  Fagus  pumila; 
Fagus  sylvatica  americana;  Magnolia  acuminata;  Betula 
alnus  americanus;  Cercis  Canadensis;  Cornus  florida; 
Evonimus  latijolius,  Evonimus  Americanus;  Podophyllum 
peltatum;  Jejjersonia;  Sanguinaria  Canadensis;  Trillium 
sessile. 

Remained  the  whole  week  at  Knoxville  and  herborised 
in  the  vicinity  while  awaiting  a  sufficiently  numerous 
caravan  to  pass  through  the  Wilderness. 

Sunday  31st  of  May  received  notice  that  twenty  five 

94  McBee's  Ferry,  crossing  the  Holston  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  Knox 
County,  was  a  well-known  landmark  of  this  region. —  Ed. 

85  Knoxville  was  settled  by  James  White  in  1787,  and  at  first  called  White's 
Station.  In  1791  a  town  was  laid  out,  named  in  honor  of  General  Knox, 
which  after  the  establishment  of  territorial  government  became  the  capital. 
The  first  governor  of  the  territory  was  William  Blount,  who  was  born  in  North 
Carolina  in  1749,  and  was  active  both  in  the  War  of  the  Regulators  (1771),  and 
in  the  Revolution.  Blount  was  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  legislature 
and  later  of  the  national  constitutional  convention.  Washington  appointed 
him  governor  of  Southwest  Territory,  and  on  the  admission  of  Tennessee  as  a 
state  he  was  chosen  first  state  senator.  For  intriguing  with  foreign  emissaries 
he  was  impeached,  and  expelled  from  the  Senate.  The  people,  however,  showed 
their  confidence  by  choosing  him  to  the  state  senate  (1797).  He  died  in  Knox 
County  in  1800. —  Ed. 


60  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

armed  travelers  were  on  the  point  of  arriving  at  Knox- 
ville. 

Monday  1st  of  June  1795,  old  style,  the  journey  was 
again  put  off. 

Thursday  4th  of  June  started  from  Knoxville  and  slept 
15  miles  away  at  captain  Camel's  at  the  place  called 
Camel  [Campbell]  station. 

Friday  the  5th,  slept  at  the  place  called  West  Point  on 
Clinch  river,  a  Post  of  soldiers  guarding  the  frontiers  of 
the  territory,96  25  Miles  from  Camel  station. 

The  6th  started  and  crossed  the  river  in  a  Scow  or 
ferry  connected  with  West  point  station.  Our  journey 
covered  10  miles.  The  Travelers  consisted  of  15  armed 
men  and  more  than  thirty  women  and  children. 

Sunday  7th  of  June  crossed  the  Mountains  called  Cum- 
berland Mountains,  22  Miles. 

The  8th  continued  our  march  in  the  Mountains  23 
Miles.     Magnolia  petalis  basi  purpureis.Q1 

Tuesday  9th  of  June  1795,  alternately  ascended  and 
descended  the  Mountains.  In  the  bottom  lands  Magno- 
lia tripetala  in  abundance,  25  Miles. 

The  10th  arrived  at  the  Cumberland  River,  10  Miles, 
and  slept  beyond  the  20th  Mile. 

The  nth  arrived  at  Blodsoe  Lick  or  Blodsoe  station,98 
20  Miles.     120  Miles  in  all  of  the  Wilderness. 


88  Fort  Southwest  Point,  as  it  was  usually  called,  was  erected  in  1792  at 
the  junction  of  Clinch  and  Holston  rivers,  near  the  present  town  of  Kingston, 
as  an  outpost  on  the  road  to  Western  Tennessee,  and  a  protection  against  the 
Cherokee  Indians.  As  late  as  1803  travellers  found  it  safer  to  go  in  company 
through  this  wilderness.     See  journal  of  F.  A.  Michaux,  post. —  Ed. 

97  Probably  M.  macrophylla,  Michx.  In  the  Flora,  it  is  described  as  only 
growing  "in  regionibus  occidentalibus  fluvio  Tennassee  trajectis." — C.  S.  S. 

88  Isaac  Bledsoe  was  one  of  a  party  of  hunters  who  discovered  this  lick 
(near  Gallatin,  in  Sumner  County)  as  early  as  1771.  He  removed  hither  in 
1779  and  founded  a  station;  he  was  also  one  of  the  framers  of  the  Cumberland 


I793-I796l  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  61 

Slept  at  this  place  where  there  is  food  for  men  and 
Horses. 

Friday  the  12th,  came  one  mile  to  Colonel  Winches- 
ter's;99 slept  there  two  nights  to  rest  myself  and  my  Horse. 

Sunday  the  14th  herborised. 

The  15th  came  to  the  house  of  a  resident  near  Cumber- 
land River,  Mr.  Jackson;100  soil  fertile.  Oaks,  Quercus 
primes:  Quercus  rubra,  Quercus  glandibus  magnis,  capsuld 
includentibus,  called  Overcup  White  Oak.101  Quercus 
tomentosa,™2  Quercus  praemorsa.     25  Miles. 

The  1 6th  arrived  at  Nashville  12  Miles. 

Total  197  Miles  from  Knoxville  to  Nashville,  the  capital 
of  the  Cumberland  Settlements  on  the  Cumberland 
river.103 


Association,  and  a  faithful  adherent  of  Robertson.  His  brother,  Col.  Anthony 
Bledsoe,  who  had  a  reputation  as  a  leader  in  the  Holtson  settlement,  later 
removed  to  Cumberland,  and  was  an  able  second  in  command  on  Indian  expe- 
ditions, especially  that  against  the  Chickamaugas  in  1787.  He  was  killed  by 
Indians  at  Bledsoe's  Station  in  1788.  The  spring  at  this  place  is  now  called 
' '  Castilian  Springs.' ' —  Ed. 

89  Gen.  James  Winchester,  born  in  Maryland  in  1752,  served  in  the  Revo- 
lution, after  which  he  removed  to  Tennessee,  and  settled  not  far  from  Gallatin, 
in  Sumner  County.  He  served  in  the  territorial  and  state  militia,  and  in  1812 
was  appointed  brigadier-general  in  the  regular  army,  superseding  Harrison  in 
command  of  the  Western  division.  Captured  at  the  River  Raisin,  he  was 
exchanged  in  1814,  resigned  the  following  year,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Ten- 
nessee in  1826. —  Ed. 

100  Michaux's  remark  indicates  the  obscurity  of  Andrew  Jackson  at  this 
early  period  of  his  history.  He  then  lived  upon  a  plantation  called  Hunter's 
Hill,  thirteen  miles  from  Nashville,  not  having  removed  to  the  "Hermitage" 
(two  miles  beyond)  until  1804. —  Ed. 

101  Quercus  macrocarpa,  Michx. —  here  first  mentioned. —  C.  S.  S. 

102  Q.  bicolor,  Willd.—  C.  S.  S. 

103  Nashville  was  founded  by  James  Robertson,  who  in  1779  came  overland 
from  the  settlements  of  Eastern  Tennessee.  Donelson's  party,  which  went  via 
the  rivers,  did  not  arrive  until  April  of  the  following  year.  Being  beyond  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  state,  the  settlers  drew  up  a  compact  under  which  they  lived 
until  the  organization  (1783)  of  Davidson  County  as  a  part  of  North  Carolina. 
The  town,  named  for  the  patriot  General  Nash,  was  until  1784  called  Nash- 


62  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  17th  visited  various  persons,  Daniel  Smith,104 
Colonel  Robertson,105  Captain  Gordon,  [G.  M.]  Deade- 
rick,  Dr  White,  Thomas  Craighead106  etc.  etc. 

Herborised  on  the  following  days. 

Trees  of  Nashville  Territory : 

Quercus  prinus;  Quercus  phellos  latijolia;  Quercus 
pinnatifida;  Quercus  foliis  lyratis  subtus  tomentosis  caly- 
cibus  maximis  margine  laciniatis  glandibus  includentibus 
Vulgo;  Over  cup  White  Oak;107  Quercus  rubra;  Quercus 
tomentosa;  Acer  saccharum,  Acer  negundo,  Acer  rubrum; 
Juglans  nigra,  oblonga,  hiccory:  Platanus  occidentalis; 
Liquidamber  styraciflua;  Ulmus  viscosa  jungosa;108  Car- 
pinus  Ostrya  americana;  Rhamnus  Alaternus  latijolius, 
Rhamnus  jrangula?109  jrutex  prunijer;  Juniperus  Vir- 
giniana.    Banks  of  Cumberland  river  Philadelphus  ino- 

borough.  Nashville  was  incorporated  in  1806.  The  legislature  met  at  this 
city  in  1812-16  and  after  1826,  but  the  city  was  not  made  the  permanent  capital 
until  1843. —  Ed. 

104  See  description  of  visit  to  Daniel  Smith,  brother-in-law  of  Andrew  Jack- 
son, in  Journal  of  F.  A.  Michaux,  post. —  Ed. 

105  Gen.  James  Robertson,  the  founder  of  West  Tennessee,  was  born  in 
Virginia  in  1742,  but  removed  to  North  Carolina  at  an  early  age,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  Watauga.  In  1774  he  took  part  in  Dunmore's  War,  de- 
fended the  Watauga  fort  in  a  siege  in  1776,  and  three  years  later  removed  with 
a  party  to  the  Cumberland.  This  settlement  was  maintained  only  by  heroic 
exertions,  and  the  courage  and  wisdom  of  Robertson  in  his  dealing  with  the 
Indians.  In  1790,  Washington  appointed  him  brigadier-general  and  Indian 
commissioner.     He  died  in  the  Chickasaw  country  in  1814. —  Ed. 

108  These  were  all  prominent  early  settlers  of  Cumberland.  Captain  Gor- 
don was  commander  in  several  Indian  affrays,  notably  the  Nickajack  expedi- 
tion, and  served  under  Jackson  in  1813.  Thomas  Craighead  was  the  first 
clergyman  in  Nashville,  where  he  arrived  in  1785  and  built  a  school-house  at 
Spring  Hill.  He  was  an  especial  friend  of  Andrew  Jackson,  whose  wife  was  a 
member  of  his  church  (Presbyterian). —  Ed. 

107  Q.  lyrata,  Nutt.—  C.  S.  S. 

108  Ulmus  fulva,  Michx.—  C.  S.  S. 

109  Rhamnus  Caroliniana,  Gray. —  C.  S.  S. 


i793-I796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  63 

dorus;  Aristolochia  siphotomentosa;110  Mimosa  erecta- 
herbacea;  Mirabilis111  clandestina  seu  umbellata  seu  parvi- 
flora;  Hypericum  Kalmianum  grandiflorum.112 

Soil  of  Nashville  clayey,  rocky,  limestone  Rocks  some- 
what similar  to  the  Kentuckey  formation,  position  of  the 
Rocks  horizontal,  occasionally  Quartz  Veins  in  the  Rocks, 
abounding  in  marine  petrifactions. 

Sunday  21st  of  June  1795,  killed  and  skinned  some 
birds. 

Birds:  Robin,  Cardinal,  Tetrao  (grouse),  Lanius  Ty- 
rannus  rare,  Quantities  of  the  Genus  Muscicopa;  few 
species  of  the  Genus  Picus:  Wild  Turkeys.  Quadrupeds: 
Musk-rat,  Beaver,  Elk,  dwarf  Deer,  Bears,  Buffalos, 
Wolves,  small  grey  Squirrels. 

Minerals:  soil  clayey.  Limestone  Rocks  always  in  a 
horizontal  position;  impure  Slate,  flocks  of  schistus; 
Petrifactions  of  land  and  fresh-water  shells. 

Monday  22nd  of  June  1795  (Old  style)  4th  of  Messidor 
in  the  3rd  year  of  the  Republic,  started  from  Nashville 
for  Kentuckey;  passed  by  Mansko's  Lick,113  12  miles  from 
Nashville;  slept  at  Major  Sharp's  1U  29  Miles  from  Nash- 
ville. 

110  A.  tomenlosa,  Sims. —  C.  S.  S. 

111  Oxybaphus  tiyctagineus,  Sweet.     {Allionia  nyctaginea,  Michx.). —  C.  S.  S. 

112  Probably  Hypericum  aureum,  Bartram. —  C.  S.  S. 

113  Mansco  Lick  was  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Davidson  County,  named 
for  its  discoverer,  Kasper  Mansco  (Mansker),  who  was  one  of  the  party  of 
Long  Hunters  in  1769.  On  his  adventures,  see  Roosevelt,  Winning  of  the 
West,  i,  pp.  147  ff . —  Ed. 

114  Major  Sharp  had  formerly  lived  in  Washington  County,  Virginia,  whence 
he  had  gone  out  to  serve  at  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain.  He  removed  to 
Kentucky  soon  after  the  Revolution,  and  later  settled  in  the  Barrens.  His  son, 
Solomon  P.  Sharp,  born  in  1780,  became  one  of  the  most  noted  Kentucky 
lawyers  and  political  leaders,  serving  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  Con- 
gresses, a  friend  and  adherent  of  Calhoun.  He  was  assassinated  in  the  midst 
of  a  brilliant  career. —  Ed. 


64  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  23rd  crossed  the  Barren  oaks  and  slept  at  [Drake's] 
Creek.  There  is  no  house  in  the  interval.  The  Soil 
produces  only  black  oaks.     30  Miles. 

The  24th  passed  by  Big  Barren  River.  The  man  who 
keeps  the  Ferry  is  well  supplied  with  provisions.115  The 
distance  is  3  Miles  from  [Drake]  Creek. 

Crossed  the  Barrens  and  slept  on  the  ground  without 
a  fire  and  without  allowing  my  horse  to  graze  at  large 
through  fear  of  the  Savages. 

The  25th  passed  by  Little  Barren  River,  the  first  house 
43  Miles  from  Big  Barren  River.  Afterward  passed  by 
Green  River  6  Miles  from  Little  Barren  River. 

The  26th  passed  by  Roland  [Rolling]  fork,  head  of  Salt 
River,  30  Miles  from  Green  River. 

The  27th  arrived  at  Danville  35  Miles  from  Roland  old 
fork. 

From  Nashville  to  Danville,  the  oldest  town  in  Ken- 
tuckey  117  Miles. 

Sunday  28th  of  June  rested. 

The  29th  skinned  three  striped  Squirrels  (Sciurus 
striatus) 

The  30th  herborised. 

Wednesday  1st  of  July  1795  visited  several  residents. 

The  2nd  continued  rain. 

The  3rd  put  my  old  Collections  in  order. 

The  4th 

Sunday  5th  of  July116 

Sunday  12th  of  July  dined  with  the  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Kentuckey,  Isaac  Shelby. 

Thursday  16th  of  July  1795  left  Danville. 

116  This  was  Andrew  McFadden,  who  settled  a  station  and  ferry  at  this 
point  in  1785,  and  was  a  well-known  character  of  that  region. —  Ed. 
116  A  part  of  one  leaf  of  the  Journal  is  here  left  blank. —  C.  S.  S. 


1 793-1 796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  65 

The  17th  passed  by  Beardston  forty  three  Miles  from 
Danville. 

The  1 8th  arrived  at  Stanford's  near  Man's  Lick.117 

Sunday  19th  remained  to  await  my  Baggage. 

The  20th  remained,  and  being  obliged  to  stay,  watched 
the  Process  of  manufacturing  Salt.  The  Wells  for  get- 
ting the  salt  water  are  dug  to  a  depth  of  about  .  .  . 
feet.  Muddy  clay  is  met  with  to  a  depth  of  .  .  .  feet. 
Then  .  .  .  feet  of  slatey  rock.  When  the  rock  is 
pierced  the  salt  water  is  found  at  a  depth  of  more  than 
.  .  .  feet.  This  slate  burns  in  the  fire  as  if  impreg- 
nated with  bitumen  or  entirely  made  up  of  that  substance. 
Bones  of  those  great  marine  bodies  that  are  rather  fre- 
quently met  with  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  have  been 
found  in  the  impure  clay  that  was  dug  up  to  reach  the 
slatey  rock. 

The  21st  of  July,  arrived  at  Louisville,  40  Miles  from 
Beardstown. 

The  22nd  and  23rd  remained  and  herborised. 

The  24th  returned  to  Manslick,  16  Miles  from  Louis- 
ville. 

The  25th  returned  to  Louisville. 

Sunday  26th  of  July  herborised. 

Plants  in  the  neighborhood  of  Louisville:  Quercus 
cerroides,118  Quercus  rubra;  Quercus  alba;  Quercus  prinus; 
Liriodendron;  Fagus  castanea,  Fagus  sylvatica;  Rhus 
foliis  alatis  dioique;  Hibiscus1™  foliis  hastatis  calyce 
exterior e  lacinis  subulatis  flore  pallide  roseo. 


120 


117  Mann's  Lick  was  a  salt  station  before  1786;  it  was  on  the  road  from 
Shepherdsville  to  Louisville,  on  the  southern  border  of  Jefferson  County. —  Ed. 

118  Probably  some  form  of  Quercus  alba,  Michx. —  C.  S.  S. 

119  Hibiscus  militaris,  Cav.  (H.  hastatus,  Michx.). —  C.  S.  S. 

120  Here  follow  to  the  end  of  this  part  of  the  Journal  separate  memoranda 
on  loose  sheets. —  C.  S.  S.     We  omit  these. —  Ed. 


66  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Saturday  first  of  August  made  ready  to  leave  for  the 
Wabash  and  the  Illinois. 

Sunday  the  2nd  I  was  invited  to  dine  with  a  French- 
man named  La  Cassagne,121  a  resident  of  Louisville  for 
more  than  15  Years. 

Trees,  shrubs  and  Plants  of  Louisville  territory: 

Liriodendron  tulipijera;  Platanus  occidentalis;  Acer 
rubrum  joins  tnjerne  argenteis;  Fagus  sylvatica  ameri- 
cana;  Quercus  rubra;  Quercus  alba,  Quercus  praemorsa,122 
Quercus  prinus,  Quercus  cerroides;122  Tilia  americana; 
Juglans  nigra,  Juglans  alba,  Juglans  hiccory,  (Juglans 
pacane  rare) ;  Gleditsia  triacanthos,  Guilandina  dioica. 

Sunday  9th  of  August  1795,  started  from  Louisville 
and  slept  at  Clarksville,123  two  miles  from  Louisville  on 
the  opposite  Bank  of  the  Ohio. 

The  10th  we  set  out  and  arrived  at  Post  Vincennes 
situate  on  the  Wabash  River  on  Thursday  the  13th  of 
August  in  the  evening.124  The  distance  is  considered  to 
be  one  hundred  and  twenty  five  Miles.  On  the  day  of 
our  arrival  we  crossed  a  River  about  20  miles  before 
reaching  Post  Vincennes  and  although  the  Waters  were 
then  very  low  we  were  on  the  point  of  making  a  Raft  for 
the  Country  is  not  inhabited  along  this  Road.     Of  all  the 

121  Michael  Lacassagne  was  one  of  the  richest  and  most  prominent  merchants 
of  Louisville;  he  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  community,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  Kentucky  convention  of  1787. —  Ed. 

122  It  is  not  clear  what  species  are  here  referred  to.  Q.  praemorsa  is  prob- 
ably Q.  macrocarpa,  and  Q.  cerroides  some  form  of  Q.  alba,  although  later  in 
the  journal  it  is  spoken  of  as  an  overcup  oak. —  C.  S.  S. 

123  Clarksville,  named  in  honor  of  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  was  intended 
as  the  metropolis  of  the  Illinois  grant  of  150,000  acres,  which  was  made  by  the 
Virginia  legislature  in  1783  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Illinois  regiment 
which  had  served  with  Clark.  A  board  of  trustees  was  established  for  the 
town,  and  a  few  of  the  former  officers  settled  here;  but  the  place  did  not  thrive, 
and  is  now  but  a  suburb  of  New  Albany. —  Ed. 

124  For  the  early  history  of  Vincennes,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  note  113. —  Ed. 


I793-I796]  Andre  Michauxs  Travels  67 

Journeys  I  have  made  in  America  in  the  past  10  years 
this  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  owing  to  the  quantity  of 
Trees  overturned  by  storms,  to  the  thick  brushwood 
through  which  one  is  obliged  to  pass;  to  the  numbers  of 
Flies  by  which  one  is  devoured,  etc. 

The  14th,  15th  and  Sunday  the  16th  of  August  I  was 
obliged  to  rest  having  arrived  almost  ill.  My  horse, 
while  trying  to  jump  over  the  trunk  of  a  large  fallen  tree, 
fell  and  threw  me  a  great  distance  and  I  suffered  for 
several  days  from  an  injury  to  the  lower  part  of  the  Chest 
on  the  left  side  because  the  trigger  of  my  gun  had  struck 
there. 

The  1 7th  spent  a  portion  of  the  day  herborising  on  the 
banks  of  the  Wabash  River. 

I  continued  herborising  on  the  following  days. 

The  18th  of  August  1795 

List  of  Plants  observed  on  the  Wabash : 

No.  1  —  Verbena™  urticijolia  caule  erecto,  paniculis 
divaricatis,  bracteis  flore  brevioribus,  floribus  albis. 

No  2  —  Verbena™  .  .  .  ,  caule  erecto,  paniculis 
jastigiatis  erectis,  bracteis  et  calycibus  pilosis,  floribus 
purpureo-ceruleis . 

No  3  —  Verbena127  caule  erecto,  paniculis  rectis  joins 
ovatis,  tomentosis,  duplicato-serratis. 

No  4  —  Verbena     .     .     . 

No  5  —  Verbena129  caule  repente,  foliis  pinnatifldis, 
bracteis  longissimis. 

Silphium  perjoliatum,  Silphium  connatum,  Silphium 
laciniatum,  Silphium  grandijolium,  Silphium  trijoliatum, 
Silphium  pinnatifidum.    Andropogon  muticum;  Holcus? 


125  V.  urticijolia,  L  —  C.  S.  S. 
128  V.  hastata,  L.  ?  —  C.  S.  S. 


127  V.  stricta,  Vent.     (V.  ringens,  Michx.).—  C.  S.  S. 

128  V.  bracteosa,  Michx.—  C.  S.  S. 


68  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

.  .  .  ;  Poa  .  .  .  ;  Quercus  cerroides  Chene  frise, 
Overcup  White  Oak;  Quercus  latijolia  Chene  a  latte 
Ram's  Oak;  Quercus  .  .  .  Polygonum  aviculare  stam- 
inibus  5,  Stylis  3;  Polygonum  aviculare  majus  staminibus 
5,  Stylis  3.  Tri folium?  pentandrum  majus;  Tri folium? 
pentandrum  floribus  purpureis;  Sanicula129  marylandica 
or  [called]  Racine  a  Becquel  by  the  Illinois  French  and 
Sakintepouah  by  the  Pians130  Savages:  A  decoction  of  the 
root  is  a  sovereign  remedy  for  several  diseases  and  for 
long-continued  venereal  diseases. 

Sunday  23rd  of  August  1795  started  from  Post  Vin- 
cennes  situated  on  the  Wabash  River  for  the  Illinois  on 
the  Mississipi.  We  journeyed  six  Miles  and  camped 
on  the  bank  of  a  Little  River  [Embarras].  I  had  no 
other  company  than  a  Savage  and  his  wife.  I  had  hired 
the  Savage  for  ten  Dollars  and  promised  him  two  Dollars 
more  to  induce  him  to  carry  all  my  baggage  on  his  horse. 

The  24th  we  made  about  25  Miles;  the  Savage  was  ill 
and  was  obliged  to  stop  more  than  three  hours  before 
sunset. 

The  25th  crossed  several  Prairies.  Observed  a  new 
species  of  Gerardta.131  Stalk  commonly  simple,  oval 
leaves  opposite  one  another,  sessile,  axillary  flowers  pur- 
purine  flowers. 

The  26th  the  Provision  of  meat  was  consumed.  The 
Savage  stopped  very  early,  finding  a  favorable  spot  for 
hunting.  Moreover  heavy  Rain  fell  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  An  hour  after  camping  the  Savage 
came  back  laden  with  a  Bear  cub  and  with  the  two  hams 


m  Spigelia?  — C.S.S. 

130  The  Piankeshaw  tribe  of  Indians,  a  branch  of  the  Miami  nation  that 
dwelt  around  Vincennes. —  Ed. 

131  G.  auriculala,  Michx. —  C.  S.  S. 


I793~I796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  69 

of  another  and  much  older  one.  We  boiled  the  kettle 
twice  and  had  enough  to  satisfy  us.  We  roasted  what 
remained. 

The  27th  the  Savage  killed  two  Stags.  We  halted 
very  early  to  dry  the  Skins  and  to  eat,  for  the  Savage  and 
his  wife  ate  five  meals  a  day.  Moreover,  they  regaled 
themselves  with  the  marrow  of  the  bones  which  they  ate 
raw;  for,  being  unable  to  carry  away  the  meat,  they  con- 
tented themselves  with  a  piece  of  the  animal's  loins. 

The  28th  of  August  1795.  Just  as  I  was  eager  to  see 
Game  the  1st  and  2nd  day,  so  was  I  afraid  to  see  it  then 
owing  to  the  waste  of  time.  I  was  all  the  more  anxious 
to  proceed  that  it  rained  every  day.  I  had  already  been 
obliged  once  to  dry  at  a  fire  my  baggage  that  had  been 
wet  through  especially  four  books  of  Botany  and  Mineral- 
ogy I  had  with  me,  as  I  had  been  unwilling  to  expose  them 
to  the  hazards  of  the  River  and  had  sent  by  way  of  the 
Mississipi  two  Trunks  containing  grey  Paper,  Powder, 
Lead,  Alum,  Boxes  for  collecting  Insects,  and  all  the 
articles  required  for  making  Collections  of  Plants,  Animals, 
Insects  and  Minerals. 

Sunday  30th  of  August  arrived  at  the  village  of  Kas- 
kaskia132  situated    two   mile    from  the   Mississipi  river 

132  The  French  villages  in  Illinois  resulted  from  the  plans  of  La  Salle;  the 
earliest  grew  up  about  Fort  St.  Louis,  on  the  Illinois  River.  In  1700,  the 
Kaskaskia  tribe  of  Indians  removed  to  the  river  bearing  their  name,  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  and  traders  followed,  and  the  village  at  this  place  began.  The 
inhabitants  were  chiefly  descendants  of  the  coureurs  des  bois,  intermixed  with 
Indian  blood.  The  Jesuit  plantation  at  Kaskaskia  consisted  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  arpents  of  land,  well-cultivated  and  stocked  with  cattle,  containing 
also  a  brewery.  When  the  Jesuits  were  suppressed,  the  buyer,  Beauvais, 
raised  eighty-six  thousand  weight  of  flour  from  a  single  harvest.  The  French 
dominion  came  to  an  end  in  1765  (see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series). 
Kaskaskia  was  captured  from  the  English  in  1778  by  George  Rogers  Clark, 
and  the  American  regime  was  instituted  by  John  Todd,  under  appointment 
from  Virginia.  See  Mason,  Chapters  from  Illinois  History  (Chicago,  1901), 
pp.  250-279. —  Ed. 


jo  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

and  half  a  mile  from  the  Kaskaskia  River.  It  is  inhabited 
by  former  Frenchmen  under  the  American  Government. 
The  number  of  families  is  about  forty  five.  It  is  agree- 
ably situated  but  the  number  of  inhabitants  had  decreased ; 
nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  houses  in  ruins  and  abandoned 
because  the  French  of  the  Illinois  country,  having  always 
been  brought  up  in  and  accustomed  to  the  Fur  trade  with 
the  savages,  have  become  the  laziest  and  most  ignorant 
of  all  men.  They  live  and  the  majority  of  them  are 
clothed  in  the  manner  of  the  Savages.  They  wear  no 
breeches  but  pass  between  their  thighs  a  piece  of  cloth 
of  about  one  third  of  an  ell  [in  length]  which  is  kept  in 
place  before  and  behind  above  the  hips  by  a  belt. 

The  31st  of  August  herborised. 

Tuesday  the  first  of  September  continued  my  herbor- 
ising; also  on  the  2nd,  3rd  and  4th  of  the  same. 

The  5th  started  for  the  village  called  Prairie  du  Rocher 
about  15  miles  distant  from  Kaskaskia.133  Passed  by  the 
village  of  St  Philippe  abandoned  by  the  French  and  in- 
habited by  three  families  of  Americans.134  This  village 
is  9  Miles  from  Prairie  du  Rocher. 

The  6th  arrived  at  Kaskia  [Cahokia]135  near  the  Missis- 
sipi     .     .     .     Miles  from  Prairie  du  Rocher. 

133  prairie  du  Rocher  was  a  small  French  village  situated  upon  a  grant  made 
to  Boisbriant  (about  1725)  by  the  Mississippi  Company,  and  by  him  transferred 
to  his  nephew  Langlois,  who  maintained  seignioral  rights  therein  until  the 
establishment  of  American  government. — Ed. 

134  St.  Philippe  was  founded  upon  Regnault's  grant.  Pittman  {Present 
State  o]  European  Settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  London,  1770),  says  that  when 
he  visited  it  (1766)  there  were  sixteen  houses,  a  small  church,  and  one  inhabi- 
tant, dubbed  "captain  of  the  militia,"  who  had  twenty  slaves,  many  cattle,  and 
a  mill. —  Ed. 

135  Cahokia  was  probably  the  oldest  settlement  in  the  Illinois,  although 
Kaskaskia  disputes  its  priority.  A  mission  of  the  Seminaire  des  Missions 
Etrangeres  was  founded  among  the  Tamaroa  and  Cahokia  Indians  about  1698, 
and  a  French  village  sprang  up  around  the  place.     In  17 14  there  was  a  large 


1 793-1 796]  Andre  Michaux  s  Travels  71 

The  7th  herborised  and  visited  the  neighborhood  of 
Kaskia. 

The  8th  started  to  return  to  Kaskaskia  and  arrived 
there  on  the  9th. 

The  10th  continued  herborising  in  the  vicinity  of  Kas- 
kaskia Village  until  the  13th  of  the  same  month. 

Sunday  the  13th  of  September  crossed  over  with  a  sav- 
age guide  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Kaskaskia  River  and 
continued  to  herborise  there  until  the  18th  of  the  same 
month. 

The  1 8th  and  19th  Rained  continually.  Put  my  Col- 
lections in  order  and  gave  my  horse  a  rest. 

Sunday  the  20th     .     .     . 

Kaskaskia  45  families;  Prairie  du  Rocher  from  22  to 
24  families.  St.  Philippe  3  American  families.  Fort 
de  Chartres  in  ruins.136  Kaskias  120  families.  Americans 
at  Corne  de  Cerf  and  at  Bellefontaine137  35  families.  St 
Louis  flourishing138     .     .     .     Prairies  and  hills. 

accession  of  renegade  coureurs  des  bois.  See  Wisconsin  Historical  Collections 
(Madison,  1902),  xvi,  pp.  331,  332.  After  the  English  acquired  the  Illinois, 
many  inhabitants  migrated  from  Cahokia  to  St.  Louis. —  Ed. 

136  Yort  Chartres  was  the  most  considerable  fortification  built  by  the  French 
in  the  western  part  of  America.  The  original  fort  was  constructed  in  1720  by 
Boisbriant,  commandant  in  Illinois  for  the  Company  of  the  Indies.  In  1756, 
the  stronghold  was  rebuilt  in  stone,  being  described  as  an  irregular  quadrangle 
with  port-holes  for  cannon,  houses,  barracks,  magazines,  etc.  For  a  contem- 
porary description,  see  Pittman,  Settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  pp.  45,  46. 
After  1765,  Fort  Chartres  was  garrisoned  by  the  English;  but  in  1772  the  ero- 
sion by  the  river  caused  a  portion  to  collapse,  and  the  fort  was  abandoned. 
For  its  present  condition,  see  Mason,  Chapters  from  Illinois  History,  pp.  241- 
249. —  Ed. 

137  The  earliest  American  settlements  in  Illinois  were  made  by  soldiers  of 
Clark's  army.  Bellefontaine,  in  the  present  Monroe  County,  was  the  centre 
for  American  life.  More  American  families  were  reported  a  few  years  previous 
to  this.  Probably  the  Indian  wars  and  the  allurements  of  the  Indian  trade  had 
caused  some  dispersal. —  Ed. 

138  St.  Louis  was  founded  by  Pierre  Laclede  in  April,  1764.  He  had  secured 
a  license  from  the  French  governor  of  Louisiana  to  trade  upon  the  upper  Missis- 


J  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Friday  2nd  of  October  started  to  go  by  land  to  the 
place  where  the  Ohio  falls  into  the  Mississipi.  Owing 
to  the  difficulty  experienced  in  crossing  the  Kaskaskia 
river  we  traveled  only  1 2  Miles. 

The  3rd  and  Sunday  the  4th  Rained  and  we  crossed 
several  prairies.     Traveled  about  27  Miles. 

The  5th  passed  more  Prairies  intersected  by  strips  of 
Forest.  My  guide  killed  an  Elk  called  Cerf  by  the 
Canadians  and  French  of  Illinois.  This  animal  is  much 
larger  (twice  as  large)  than  the  dwarf  Deer  of  the  United 
States  of  which  there  is  an  abundance  also  in  the  Illinois 
country  and  which  the  French  of  these  countries  call 
Chevreuil.  Its  antlers  are  twice  the  size  of  those  of  the 
European  Stags.  Below  each  of  its  two  eyes  is  a  cavi- 
ty which  keeps  closed  but,  by  separating  the  two  sides 
like  eyelids,  one  can  insert  a  finger  to  the  depth  of  an 
inch.  This  cavity  seems  intended  for  the  purpose  of 
secreting  some  kind  of  humor.  In  fact  on  opening  the 
cavity  I  found  a  substance  of  the  form  and  consistency 
of  a  hare's  dropping  but  of  the  size  of  an  acorn.  This 
animal  has  canine  teeth  in  the  upper  and  lower  jaw  like 
those  of  horses,  called  fangs.  The  hunters  say  that  this 
animal  is  always  very  fat.  In  fact  this  one  was  exceed- 
ingly so.     Traveled  about  32  Miles. 

The  6th  entered  the  forests  and  crossed  several  rivers. 
Traveled     .     .     .     miles. 

sippi  and  the  Missouri.  Upon  arriving  in  the  Illinois  country,  the  previous 
November,  he  chose  the  site  for  his  new  settlement,  and  spent  the  winter  at 
Cahokia  making  arrangements.  Meanwhile  the  news  of  the  transfer  of  Canada 
and  the  Illinois  to  the  British  had  arrived.  Under  the  impression  that  France 
had  retained  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  many  Illinois  settlers  removed 
thither  with  Laclede.  St.  Louis  nourished  under  Spanish  dominion,  but  was 
known  by  its  neighbors  as  "Pain  Court"  (Scant-bread)  because  its  inhabitants 
devoted  more  time  to  fur- trading  than  to  agriculture.  It  was  not  until  trans- 
ferred to  the  United  States  (March,  1804)  that  the  career  of  St.  Louis  as  a  city 
began. —  Ed. 


1 793-1 796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  73 

The  7th  of  October  1795  my  guide  killed  a  Buffalo 
which  he  considered  to  be  about  four  years  old.  It 
seemed  to  weigh  over  nine  hundred  pounds.  As  it  was 
not  very  fat  my  guide  told  me  it  was  very  common  to  see 
animals  at  that  age  weighing  over  twelve  hundred  pounds. 
It  seemed  larger  than  any  Oxen  in  France  and  to  surpass 
them  in  length  and  size. 

Thursday  the  8th  saw  another  Buffalo  thirty  toises  from 
our  Road.  We  stopped  to  look  at  it.  It  walked  very 
slowly  but  after  a  couple  of  minutes  it  stopped  and, 
recognizing  us,  ran  away  with  extraordinary  speed.  On 
the  same  day  arrived  at  Fort  Cheroquis  otherwise  called 
Fort  Massac  by  the  Americans.139     125  Miles. 

The  9th  of  October  1795  herborised  on  the  bank  of  the 
Mississipi:  Platanus  Liquidamber  Bonducs,  pekan  Nut- 
trees,  hiccory  Nut-trees,  called  by  the  French  Noyers 
durs;  prickly  Nuts  (by  the  French  Noyer  amer)  round 
Nuts.  White  Oak,  Quercus  alba,  Quercus  rubra  ramosis- 
sima,  Quercus  cerroides  (by  the  French  chene  frise  and  by 
the  Americans  overcup  White  Oak)  Quercus  prinus, 
Quercus  integrijolia140  or  Quercus  joliis  junioribus  omni- 
bus et  adultis  semper  integerrimis  margine  undulatis 
apice  setaceis.  This  species  of  oak  abounds  in  the 
Illinois  Country.     It  loses  its  leaves  later  than  the  other 

139  For  definition  of  Toise,  see  post,  note  163. 

Fort  Massac  had  been  erected  by  the  order  of  General  Wayne  in  1794,  in 
order  to  check  the  expedition  which  Michaux  went  to  Kentucky  to  promote. 
It  was  on  the  site  of  an  old  French  post,  which  had  been  erected  in  1757  by 
Aubry,  governor  of  Illinois.  He  first  named  it  Fort  Ascension,  and  proceeded 
thence  to  reinforce  Fort  Duquesne  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio.  After  the  evacua- 
tion of  that  fortress  (1758),  the  Illinois  troops  dropped  down  to  this  place,  and 
renamed  it  Fort  Massac,  in  honor  of  the  Marquis  de  Massiac,  minister  of  marine. 
When  the  French  surrendered  the  Illinois,  the  British  neglected  to  fortify  this 
place,  although  recommended  to  do  so  by  their  engineers.  Accordingly  Clark 
marched  hither  overland  to  his  capture  of  Illinois. —  Ed. 

140  Q.  imbricaria,  Michx.—  C.  S.  S. 


74  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

species  of  Oak.  The  French  inhabitants  call  it  Chene  a 
lattes.  In  Lower  Carolina  it  is  rather  rare  but  keeps  its 
leaves  until  the  month  of  February  or  March.  It  seems 
to  resemble  the  green  Oak  from  which  it  differs  in  the 
shape  of  its  acorns. 

Nyssa  montana  rather  rare;  Gleditsia  triacanthos ; 
Robinia  pseudoacacia  (by  the  French  fevier).  The  Gledit- 
sia triacanthos  is  called  fevier  epineux  and  the  Guilandina 
dioica  Gros  fevier  and  the  seeds  Gourganes.  Note.  On 
the  Illinois  river  is  a  species  or  variety  of  Guilandina 
dioica  whose  seeds  are  twice  as  big  as  those  on  the  Banks 
of  the  Mississipi,  Cumberland  etc.  Liana  Rajanioides; 
Anonymos141  ligustroides;  Vitis142  monosperma,  this  species 
is  found  along  the  Rivers  and  not  in  the  interior  of  the 
forest ;  I  saw  it  on  the  Kaskaskia  River,  on  the  Mississipi 
in  the  vicinity  of  fort  Massac,  on  the  Tenasse  river,  but  it 
completely  covers  the  banks  of  the  Cumberland  river 
from  its  mouth  to  a  distance  of  45  Miles. 

Sunday  nth  of  October  1795  started  with  a  Guide  to 
ascend  the  Cumberland  (Shavanon)  river143  in  a  Canoe. 
The  rain  compelled  us  to  return. 

Tuesday  the  13th  hired  two  men  at  a  dollar  a  day  each 
to  ascend  the  Rivers  of  the  Territory  of  the  Cheroquis 
Savages.  Started  from  fort  Cheroquis  or  Fort  Massac. 
The  distance  is  six  Miles  to  reach  the  mouth  of  the 
Tenassee  River  called  by  the  French  of  Illinois  Chero- 

141  Forestiera  acuminata,  Poir.     (Adelia  acuminata,  Michx.). —  C.  S.  S. 

142  Vitis  riparia,  Michx.,  or  more  probably,  in  part,  at  least,  V.  palmata, 
Vahl.  (V.  rubra,  Michx.  in  herb),  a  species  which  is  often  monospermous, 
and  which  was  discovered  by  Michaux  in  this  region  and  merged  by  him  with 
his  V.  riparia. —  C.  S.  S.       > 

143  The  Cumberland  River  was  usually  known  as  the  Shawnese  River  on 
early  maps.  Doubtless  this  Indian  tribe  had  dwelt  thereon  when  first  met  by 
white  explorers. —  Ed. 


I793-I7963  Andre  Michaux  s  Travels  75 

quis  River.144  This  river  is  very  great  and  very  wide. 
After  ascending  it  about  six  miles  we  saw  the  tracks  of  a 
Bear  on  the  bank.  We  stopped  and  entered  the  wood 
when  we  came  upon  a  she  Bear  with  cubs.  The  dog 
pursued  the  Mother,  the  cubs  climbed  a  tree;  I  killed  one 
and  the  guides  killed  the  two  others.  We  passed  the 
night  at  that  place. 

The  14th  very  heavy  Fog;  we  made  only  5  Miles. 
Rain  began  to  fall  about  noon. 

The  1 6th  paddled  or  rowed  about  ten  Miles  owing  to  a 
heavy  Wind  that  began  by  a  storm  the  previous  evening 
and  continued  a  part  of  the  day.  We  camped  opposite 
an  Island  or  Chain  of  Rocks  running  nearly  across  the 
River.  Nevertheless  there  is  a  channel  on  the  south 
Bank  that  is  fairly  deep  and  sufficient  for  the  passage  of 
large  boats. 

Banks  of  the  Cheroquis  river  (Tenassee):  Platanus; 
Juglans  pacana,  Hiccori,  pignut;  Liquidambar;  Quercus 
rubra,  prinus;  Anonymos  carpinoides;  Anonymos  ligus- 
troides;145  Betula  austrolis  grey-bark  Birch,146  which  is 
found  throughout  America  from  Virginia  to  the  Floridas; 
it  differs  from  the  Betula  papyrijera;  Bignonia  catalpa; 
Ulmus;  Fraxinus;  Vitis  rubra  or  monosperma;  Gleditsia 
triacanthos;  Diospiros;  Smilax  pseudochina;  Bignonia 
crucigera,  radicans;  Rajania  .  .  .  Dioecia  8-dria; 
Populus  Caroliniana,  by  the  French  Creoles  Liard,  and 
by  the  Americans  Cotton  tree.  (Note:  The  Canada 
Poplar  is  called  by  the  Canadians  Tremble  and  by  the 
English  of  Canada  Quaking  Aspen);  Acer  rubruni,  sac- 

144  So  called  because  it  took  its  rise  in  the  Cherokee  territory.  See  Weiser's 
Journal,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  note  33. —  Ed. 

145  Foresfiera  ligustrina,  Poir.     {Adelia  ligustrina.     Michx.). —  C.  S.  S. 
148  Betula  nigra,  L.     (B.  lanulosa,  Michx.).—  C.  S.  S. 


j  6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

charinum,  negundo:  Anonymos  ligustroides;  Anonymos 
ulmoides.147 

(The  22nd  of  June  1795,  according  to  the  Gazette  the 
Agents  of  the  French  Republic  were  recognized  by  Presi- 
dent Washington 

Philip  Joseph  Letombe,  Consul  General 

Theodore  Charles  Mozard,  Consul  at  Boston 

Jean  Anthony  Bern  Rosier,  Consul  at  New  York 

Leon  Delaunay,  Pennsylvania 

Louis  Etienne  Duhait,  Maryland)148 

The  15th  October  1795  herborised. 

The  1 6th  descended  the  river  and  camped  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Shavanon  River  called  Cumberland  river  by  the 
Americans  eighteen  Miles  from  fort  Massac;  killed  a 
Canada  Goose  called  by  the  French  Canadians  and 
Illinois  French  Outarde;  killed  two  water-Hens  an 
American  kingfisher,  an  American  pelican. 

The  17th  ascended  the  River  about  ten  Miles;  there 
were  numbers  of  wild  Turkeys  on  the  banks ;  the  Rowers 
and  I  killed  five  from  the  Canoe  in  passing,  without  land- 
ing. 

The  1 8th  continued  on  our  way  toward  the  upper  part 
of  the  River. 

The  19th  descended  the  river. 

Tuesday  20th  of  October  1795  returned  to  Fort  Chero- 
quis  or  Fort  Massac. 

Trees  and  Plants  in  the  neighborhood  on  the  Banks  of 
the  Ohio. 


147  Planera  aquatica,  Gmel. —  C.  S.  S. 

148  The  interpolation  of  these  names  in  the  journal  at  this  point,  would 
appear  to  indicate  that  the  news  of  the  appointments  consequent  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  new  French  minister,  Adet  (June  i,  1795),  had  just  reached 
Michaux;  also  that  his  interest  in  political  affairs  was  still  active,  and  that  other 
motives  may  have  led  him  to  this  country  under  feint  of  herborizing. —  Ed. 


I793-I796]  Andre  Michaux  s  Travels  jj 

Platanus  occidentalism  by  the  Americans  Sycamore  and 
by  the  Illinois  French  cotonnier;  Populus,  by  the  Ameri- 
cans Cotton  tree  and  by  the  Illinois  French,  Liard; 
Celtis  occidentalism  by  the  Americans  Hackberry  tree  and 
by  the  French  Bois  inconnu;  Liquidambar  styraciflua, 
by  the  French  of  Louisiana  Copalm  and  by  the  Amer- 
icans   .     .     . 

A  Frenchman  who  traded  among  the  Cheroquis  Savages 
cured  himself  of  the  Itch  by  drinking  for  ten  days  a  decoc- 
tion of  Chips  of  that  tree  which  he  called  Copalm  and 
which  is  the  true  Liquidambar;  Gleditsia  triacanthos,  fevier 
(bean-plant)  by  the  French  and  sweet  locust  by  the  Ameri- 
cans. 

Guilandina  dioica .u9 

Sunday  25th  of  October  1795  Spiraea  trijoliata  is  a 
purgative  used  by  the  Savages  and  by  the  Illinois  French. 
They  call  it  Papiconah.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Fort 
Cheroquis  is  found  also  the  Geranium  called  herbe  or 
rather  Racine  a  Becquet  which  is  given  for  chronic  Dis- 
eases during  several  weeks;  Veronica  virginica  called  by 
the  French  herbe  a  quatre  feuilles  (four-leaved  grass)  is 
often  added. 

Sunday  first  of  November  I  was  obliged  to  defer  my 
departure,  my  Horse  not  having  been  found. 

Friday  the  6th  my  Horse  was  brought  back  to  the  Fort 
and  I  at  once  made  ready  to  start  for  the  Illinois.  Started 
the  same  day  and  journeyed  about  18  Miles. 

The  7  th  the  Rain  began  early  in  the  morning  and  con- 
tinued all  day.  Remained  camped  under  a  Rock  where  I 
had  stopped  the  previous  day  with  my  Guide. 

Sunday  the  8th  traveled  through  woods  and  Hills. 

The  9th,  the  same. 


149 


A  blank  of  five  days  in  the  Journal  occurs  here. —  C.  S.  S. 


yS  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  10th  arrived  toward  evening  at  the  Prairies. 

The  nth  crossed  the  Prairies. 

The  12th  toward  evening  Re-entered  the  Woods  once 
more  and  slept  7  Miles  from  Kaskaskia  river. 

The  13th  arrived  before  breakfast  at  Kaskaskia  about 
130  Miles  from  Fort  Massac 

The  13th  of  November  I  rested. 

Sunday  the  14th  went  out  to  hunt  Canada  Geese. 

The  15th  put  my  Collections  of  seeds  in  order. 

The  1 6th  same  occupation. 

The  1 7th  I  went  Hunting. 

Thursday  18th  started  for  Prairie  du  Rocher 

The  19th  Duck  Hunting. 

The  20th  Goose  Hunting. 

Sunday  22nd  paid  visits. 

The  23rd,  24th,  25th,  26th,  27th  and  28th  visited  the 
Mountains  of  Rock  bordering  on  the  inhabited  Country; 
Opossums,  Raccoons,  aquatic  Birds  etc. 

Sunday  29th  of  November  went  to  the  Village  of  St 
Philippe  called  the  Little  Village. 

The  30th  visited  Fort  de  Chartres. 

Tuesday  the  1st  of  December  started  for  Kaskaskias 
and  remained  there. 

The  2nd  and  3rd  of  the  same  Made  arrangements  with 
Richard150  to  go  by  water  to  Cumberland. 

The  4th  returned  to  Prairie  du  Rocher. 

The  5th  prepared  to  start.  Stuffed  a  white-headed 
wild  Goose. 

The  6th  started  once  more  for  Kaskaskias. 

The  7th  confirmed  once  more  in  my  opinion  that  the 
Second  Bark  of  Celtis  occidentalis  (called  in  the  Illinois 

160  A  habitant  named  Pierre  Richard  is  listed  as  a  head  of  family  at  Kas- 
kaskia in  1783,  and  again  in  1790. —  Ed. 


1793-1796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  79 

country  Bois  connu  and  toward  New  Orleans  Bois  inconnu) 
is  an  excellent  remedy  for  curing  jaundice;  a  handful  of 
the  roots  or  leaves  of  Smilax  sarsaparilla  is  added  to  it; 
it  is  used  for  about  eight  days  as  a  decoction. 

The  8th  of  December  1795.  The  French  Creoles  call 
the  species  of  Smilax  found  in  the  Illinois  country,  Squine. 
Only  the  thorny  species  grows  there;  it  loses  its  leaves  in 
the  Autumn.  The  other  species  is  herbaceous  and 
climbing. 

The  9th  of  December.  The  root  of  Fagara  as  a  decoc- 
tion is  a  powerful  remedy  for  curing  disease  of  the  Spleen. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  root  of  Zanthoxilum  clava-Her- 
cidi  can  be  used  for  obstructions  of  the  liver  and  Spleen. 

The  10th:  Bignonia  Catalpa,151  by  the  French  Creoles 
Bois  Shavanon;  Cercis  canadensis,  Bois  noir  (black 
wood);  Liriodendron  tulipijera,  Bois  jaune  (yellow  wood); 
Nyssa,  Olivier  (olive).  In  making  Wheels  for  vehicles 
the  workmen  use  the  Wood  of  Padus  Virginiana  for  the 
felloes,  Elm  for  the  Naves  and  white  oak  for  the  Spokes. 

The  nth  of  December.  Confirmed  once  more  in  my 
opinion  that  the  root  of  Veronica  Virginiana,  vulgarly 
known  as  Her  be  a  quatre  feuilles  (four-leaved  grass), 
used  as  a  decoction  for  a  month,  is  effective  for  the  cure 
of  venereal  Diseases.  Four  or  five  of  the  roots  are 
boiled.  As  this  beverage  is  purgative  the  strength  of 
this  Ptisan  must  be  increased  or  reduced  by  putting  more 
or  less  according  to  the  effect  it  has  on  one.  It  is  suffi- 
cient for  the  first  days  that  the  bowels  be  relaxed  and 
looser  than  usual;  it  is  not  unusual  that  the  bowels  be 
moved  3  or  4  times  the  first  day. 

I  was  informed  at  Illinois  that  Mackey  a  Scotchman 

151  This,  doubtless,  is  C.  speciosa,  Warder,  the  only  indigenous  species  in 
this  region. —  C.  S.  S. 


80  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

and  Even  a  Welshman,  started  at  the  end  of  July  1795 
from  St  Louis  to  ascend  the  Missouri  in  a  4  oared  Barge. 
They  are  aided  by  a  Company  whereof  Charles  Morgan, 
a  Creole  from  the  Islands,  is  Manager.152 

December  the  [12th]  1795. 

Sunday  the  13th  made  my  preparations  for  the  journey 
to  Cumberland. 

The  14th  started  for  Cumberland;  passed  the  Salt 
spring  on  Spanish  territory.  Observed  Tagetoides. 
Learned  the  news  of  the  peace  between  France  and 
Spain.  Slept  six  miles  from  the  Salt  spring.  Observed 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississipi  river  Equisetum  which  the 
French  Creoles  call  Prele.  This  Plant  has  here  a  cir- 
cumference of  nearly  one  inch  and  the  stalk  is  4  feet  high. 

The  15th  passed  Cape  St  Come153  at  the  foot  of  which 
the  Mississipi  makes  an  angle.  Fish  is  caught  here  in 
abundance;  the  distance  from  Kaskaskia  is  eighteen 
Miles.  Camped  at  Girardeau154  17  leagues  from  Kas- 
kaskia. 


152  The  principal  fur-trading  company  at  St.  Louis  had  been  formed  in 
1794  by  a  union  of  all  the  traders  at  the  suggestion  of  the  governor,  Trudeau; 
at  its  head  as  manager  was  placed  Jacques  Clanmorgan  (Ch.  Morgan  is  a 
misprint  for  Clanmorgan),  who  had  for  some  time  been  in  business  in  St.  Louis, 
but  did  not  sustain  an  honorable  reputation.  He,  however,  succeeded  in  inter- 
esting in  his  enterprises,  a  rich  merchant  of  Canada,  named  Todd,  and  prob- 
ably the  Scotchman  and  Welshman  were  his  factors.  See  Billon,  Annals  of 
St.  Louis  (St.  Louis,  1886),  pp.  283  ff .—  Ed. 

163  Cape  St.  Cosme  has  been  corrupted  into  Cape  Cinque  Hommes,  in 
Perry  County,  Missouri.  It  was  originally  named  for  Jean  Francois  de  St. 
Cosme,  a  Canadian  Seminary  priest  who  made  a  voyage  down  the  Mississippi 
in  1700,  and  was  a  missionary  to  the  Illinois  and  Natchez.  A  few  years  later, 
he  was  assassinated  on  the  lower  Mississippi  by  a  band  of  savages,  upon  whom 
Bienville  later  avenged  his  death.  The  term  "Cap  St.  Cosme"  is  found  on  a 
map  of  1758. —  Ed. 

154  Cape  Girardeau  was  settled  in  1 794,  the  first  house  having  been  built 
by  a  Frenchman.  The  later  settlement,  however,  was  almost  exclusively 
American;  by  1803  there  was  a  population  of  twelve  hundred. —  Ed. 


1 793-1 796]  Andre  Mic /mux's  Travels  81 

The  1 6th  continued  for  6  hours  with  Hills  and  Rocks 
on  the  shores  of  the  river,  then  low  land.  We  camped 
at  the  place  where  the  Belle  Riviere  [Ohio]  falls  into  the 
Mississipi.  On  the  opposite  bank  was  camped  Gover- 
nor Don  Gayoso,  Governor  of  Natchez  and  upper 
Louisiana.155  He  sent  a  Boat  to  find  out  who  we  were 
and,  learning  that  I  was  a  passenger,  he  came  to  see  me. 
He  told  me  the  news  of  the  Peace  between  France  and 
Spain.  He  offered  me  his  services.  The  distance  from 
Cape  Girardeau  to  the  Mouth  of  the  Belle  Riviere  is 
eighteen  leagues  and  in  all  35  leagues  from  Illinois. 

The  1 7th  camped  at  a  distance  of  about  7  leagues. 

The  1 8th  arrived  near  Fort  Massac;  seven  leagues. 

The  19th  camped  opposite  the  Mouth  of  the  River 
Cheroquis  or  Tenasse. 

Sunday  the  20th  passed  by  la  Pacaniere;  this  is  an  ex- 
tensive Swamp  on  the  North  West  side  bordered  by 
Pekan  Nut-trees  situate  opposite  or  rather  a  little  before 
entering  the  Cumberland  River. 

The  same  day  Sunday  20th  of  December,  entered  the 
River  Shavanon  or  Cumberland  River  the  mouth  of 
which  is  six  long  leagues  from  Fort  Massac.  Slept  two 
leagues  above  the  Mouth. 

The  2 1  st  rowed  about  8  leagues. 

The  22  nd  rowed  about  7  leagues,  and  slept  at  the  great 
Eddy  which  is  considered  to  be  at  a  distance  of  forty  five 
miles  from  the  mouth.158 

155  Don  Manuel  Gayoso  de  Lemos  was  educated  in  England  and  married 
an  American.  During  his  governorship  at  Natchez  he  was  employed  by  Caron- 
delet  in  intrigues  with  the  inhabitants  of  Kentucky;  he  had  come  north  at  this 
time  for  a  conference  with  Sebastian,  and  to  communicate  with  Wilkinson. 
In  1797  he  was  made  governor-general  of  Louisiana,  and  died  two  years  later, 
after  a  dinner  given  at  New  Orleans  in  honor  of  Wilkinson. —  Ed. 

1M  The  town  of  Eddyville,  Lyon  County,  Kentucky,  was  founded  at  this 
eddy  in  1799. —  Ed. 


8  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  23rd  we  camped  above  the  Isle  aux  Saules  (Willow- 
Island)  ;  rowed  about  1 2  Miles  or  4  leagues. 

The  24th  remained  in  camp.  Rained  all  day.  The 
River  which  was  very  easy  to  navigate  until  today,  rose 
considerably  and  flooded  the  woods. 

The  25th  Rain  continued  to  fall  mixed  with  hail.  Re- 
mained in  Camp. 

The  26th  Remained  in  camp  on  account  of  the  rising 
of  the  river  whose  current  was  too  strong. 

Sunday  27th  of  December  1795.  rowed  about  4  Miles 
only  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  rowing  against  the  current 
of  the  river.     Camped  at  the  mouth  of  Little  River. 

The  28th  crossed  to  the  opposite  bank.  The  current 
was  as  rapid  as  on  the  previous  days  and  compelled  us  to 
camp.     White  frost. 

The  29th  it  again  Rained  heavily.     Remained  in  camp. 

The  30th  the  River  having  overflowed  and  flooded  all 
parts  of  the  woods,  we  shifted  camp  and  returned  to  the 
Little  river;  we  ascended  it  until  we  came  to  a  Hill  high 
enough  to  relieve  us  from  the  fear  of  being  flooded. 
Rain. 

The  31st  the  weather  became  clear,  the  wind  shifted 
to  the  North  but  the  river  continued  to  overflow  its 
banks.     Most  of  us  went  hunting  wild  Turkeys. 

Friday  first  of  January  1796.  Wind  from  the  north; 
Frost;  the  River  rose  one  inch  during  the  night. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Little  river,  the  Country  has  Hills 
scattered  here  and  there.  Soil  clayey,  very  rich  Mould, 
Rock  consisting  of  Silex  very  slightly  ferruginous.  Blue 
Limestone. 

Animals:  Raccoons,  dwarf  Deer,  Opossums,  Buffaloes, 
Bears,  grey  Squirrels,  Beaver,  Otter,  Musk-rats  (these 
three  species  very  rare). 


1793-1796]  Andre  Michaux  s  Travels  83 

Birds:  Ravens,  Owls  of  the  large  species,  Cardinals, 
blue  Jays;  green  Parroquets  with  yellow  heads  of  the 
small  species;  Jays  with  red  heads  and  throats. 

Trees  and  Plants:  Liriodendron;  Liquidambar ;  yellow 
chestnut  Oak,  red  Oak;  Annona;  horn-bean. 

The  2nd  of  January,  still  remained  in  camp  at  the  same 
spot.     Weather  cloudy.     The  River  fell  two  inches  only. 

Sunday  the  3rd  Heavy  wind.  Nyassa  montana  is 
called  by  the  French  Creoles  Olivier  Sauvage  and  by  the 
Kentucky  Americans  Black  Gum  tree  and  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania Americans  Tupelo.  Having  nothing  to  do  I 
made  ink  with  gall  nuts  which  I  gathered  on  the  Oaks 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  spot  where  we  were  camped.  It  was 
made  in  less  than  five  minutes  and  will  serve  me  as  a 
sample.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Little  river  Lirioden- 
dron; Liquidambar;  Carpinus  ostrya;  Ulmus  jungosa; 
Padus  Virginiana  minor;  Laurus  benzoin  etc. 

The  4th  rowed  about  4  or  5  Miles.  Camped  near 
rather  high  Hills  consisting  of  shifting  soil  and  rolled 
boulders.  Carpinus  ostrya;  Ulmus  jungosa;  Padus 
Virginiana  minor;  Philadelphus  inodorus;  Nyssa 
montana,  by  the  Americans  Black  gum;  Acer  rubrum; 
Viscum  parasite;  Fagus  Americana  and  Orobanche  Vir- 
giniana a  parasite  on  the  roots  of  the  Fagus  Americana; 
Betula  spuria151  called  by  the  French  Bouleau  batard. 

Tuesday  5th  of  January  1796  we  rowed  7  Miles  and 
camped  opposite  Diev  Island  12  Miles  from  Little  River. 

The  6th  the  snow  that  fell  during  the  night  had  cooled 
the  weather.  Steep  limestone  Rocks  from  the  place 
where  we  were  camped  continuing  for  about  a  Mile  on 
the  east  bank.     Rowed  about  8  Miles. 

The  7th    The  River  fell  19  inches  during  the  night; 

157  B.  nigra,  L.—  C.  S.  S. 


84  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

as  the  frost  had  lowered  the  water  this  led  us  to  hope 
that  it  would  be  easier  to  row  against  the  current  of  this 
river  which  is  naturally  hemmed  in  between  Hills.  Rowed 
about  8  Miles. 

The  8th  the  river  fell  19  inches  during  the  night. 
Passed  by  the  Island  of  the  boundary  line  between  Cum- 
berland and  Kentuckey. 

Plants  on  the  Banks:  Platanus  occidentalis ;  Betula 
australis  or  spuria;  Acer  rubrum;  Ulmus  Americana; 
Fraxinus;  Salix  on  the  low  Islands;  Anonymos  ligustroides. 
Rowed  about  10  Miles. 

The  9th  the  river  fell  nearly  five  feet  during  the  night. 
We  rowed  about  ten  Miles. 

Sunday  10th  of  January  the  River  fell  4  feet  during  the 
night.  Continual  Rain  and  Snow.  Passed  Yellow  Creek 
16  Miles  before  reaching  Clark's  ville.  Passed  Blowming 
grove  (?)  13  Miles  before  reaching  Clark's  ville.  Rocks 
and  Hills.  Passed  Dixon  Island  (?)  10  Miles  before 
reaching  Clark's  ville  and  at  present  the  most  remote 
Settlement  of  Cumberland  territory.  This  Settlement 
consists  of  fifteen  families  who  established  themselves 
there  three  months  ago.  The  chief  place  of  this  settle- 
ment is  called  Blount's  borough  or  Blount's  ville. 

The  nth  Rained  all  the  previous  night  and  a  portion  of 
the  day.  Passed  by  a  chain  of  Hills  and  by  a  rock  called 
Red  painted  rock  on  the  right  side  of  the  River  that  is  to 
say  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  2  Miles  from  Clark's 
ville.  Afterwards  passed  by  the  red  river  whose  mouth 
is  likewise  on  the  north  side  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
Clark's  ville.     Finally  arrived  at  Clark's  ville.158 

158  Clarksville  was  one  of  the  oldest  settlements  of  Cumberland,  having 
first  been  occupied  (1780)  by  the  Renfroe  and  Turpin  families.  As  an  ad- 
vanced outpost  it  was  attacked  many  times  by  Indians,  the  latest  onslaught 
having  occurred  in   1794.     The  other  settlements  which  Michaux  mentions 


1793-1796]  Andre  Mic /mux's  Travels  85 

The  12th  of  January  1796,  remained  at  Clark's  ville 
on  account  of  the  river  rising. 

The  13th  Doctor  Brown  of  Carolina  who  had  come  to 
found  this  new  town  Blount's  borough  10  Miles  above 
Clark's  ville,  was  at  the  latter  place.155 


>9 


The  15th  bought  a  horse  at  the  price  of  one  hundred 
Dollars. 

The  1 6th  departed;  my  horse  ran  away  and  I  caught 
him  6  Miles  from  Clark's  ville  at  the  Mill,  10  Miles. 

Sunday  the  17th  dined  10  Miles  from  Nashville  at 
Ebneston's  a  quarter  of  a  Mile  from  the  Mill  at  the  house 
of  an  old  Pennsylvanian,  an  educated  man  well  informed 
as  regards  foreign  news.160  Slept  at  Crokes  18  Miles  from 
Ebneston.  The  Widow  Martin  lives  near  there  and  her 
house  is  better  for  travelers. 

The  1 8th  passed  the  Ridges,  15  Miles,  without  seeing 
any  houses  as  far  as  White  Creek.  Old  Stumps161  lives  5 
miles  from  White  Creek. 

The  19th  started  from  Stump's  and  arrived  at  Nash- 
ville 5  Miles. 

Total  from  Clark's  ville  to  Nashville  54  Miles  by  land 
and  70  Miles  by  water. 

were,  as  he  says,  of  quite  recent  origin  —  incident  upon  the  close  of  the  Indian 
war  (1795),  and  the  inrush  of  settlers  over  the  new  wagon  road  made  this  same 
year  to  the  Cumberland. —  Ed. 

159  The  entry  for  the  14th  is  omitted  in  the  original  publication. —  Ed. 

160  Capt.  John  Edmeston  was  a  well-known  Indian  fighter  and  leader  of  the 
militia.  An  expedition  against  the  Chickasaws,  organized  by  him  in  1792, 
was  forbidden  by  Robertson,  because  of  negotiations  pending  with  this  warlike 
tribe. —  Ed. 

161  "Old  man"  Frederick  Stumps  was  a  German,  who  early  made  improve- 
ments on  White  Creek,  north  of  Eaton's  Station.  His  flight  of  three  miles  to 
the  latter  station,  with  Indian  pursuers  close  at  his  heels,  was  one  of  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  settlement. —  Ed. 


95 

Miles 

45 

Miles 

i8 

Miles 

1 20 

Miles 

60 

Miles 

432 

8  6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

From  St  Louis  to  Kaskaskias     ...         94 
From  Kaskaskias  to  the  place  where  the  Ohio 

falls  into  the  Mississipi 
From  there  to  fort  Massac 
From   there  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland 

river  ....... 

From  there  to  Clark's  ville  on  the  red  river 
From  there  to  Nashville    .... 

Total  432  Miles 

(Prices  at  Nashville):  Dinner  2  shillings,  Breakfast 
or  supper  1  shilling  4  pence;  ^  Quart  of  Whiskey  1 
shilling.  Hay  and  maize  for  Horse  2  shillings.  The 
whole  is  six  Shillings  for  one  Dollar.) 

The  20th,  21st,  and  22nd  remained  at  Nashville. 

The  23rd  started  from  Nashville  and  journeyed  29^ 
Miles;  lodged  with  Major  Sharp. 

Sunday  the  24th  of  January  1796  arrived  at  a  Creek  at  a 
distance  of  29  Miles  near  which  one  Chapman  keeps 
lodgings  at  3^  Miles;  MacFaddin  on  Big  Brown 
[Barren]  keeps  a  ferry  and  lodgings.  Total  32*^ 
Miles. 

The  25th  Rain  and  Snow. 

The  26th  Started  for  Green  river.  The  ground  was 
covered  with  snow,  the  Roads  rough  and  my  horse  fell 
lame.  I  was  obliged  to  walk.  I  made  12  miles.  I  was 
unable  to  light  a  fire  because  the  trees  and  wood  were  all 
frosted.  I  spent  the  night  nearly  frozen.  About  2 
o'clock  the  Moon  rose  and  I  resolved  to  return  to  Mac- 
Faddin's  where  I  arrived  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

The  27  th  being  overcome  by  cold  and  weariness,  having 
traveled  afoot,  having  eaten  nothing  since  the  morning 


1 7 93- 1 796]  Andre  Mi c /mux's  Travels  87 

of  the  previous  day  and  not  having  slept  during  the  night, 
the  toes  of  my  right  foot  became  inflamed.  I  bathed  my 
feet  in  cold  water  several  times  during  the  following 
night  and  no  sores  resulted  therefrom  but  for  several  days 
the  toes  were  numb  and  as  if  deprived  of  sensation. 

The  28th  I  was  compelled  to  go  a  distance  of  seven 
Miles  to  get  my  horse  shod  and  I  went  to  sleep  at  Mr. 
Maddison's  whose  plantation  was  close  by. 

The  29th  of  January  1796  I  started  very  early  in  the 
morning  as  I  had  38  Miles  to  travel  without  coming  to  an 
inn  or  other  habitation.  I  had  been  received  with  all  the 
civility  that  can  be  expected  from  a  man  who  has  had  a 
higher  education  than  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
country.  This  Mr  Maddisson  was  a  Virginian  and  a 
relative  of  the  celebrated  Madisson,  Member  of  Congress. 
This  gentleman  was  a  true  Republican  in  his  principles 
and  I  spent  a  very  interesting  and  very  pleasant  evening 
at  his  house.162  His  wife  surpassed  him  in  offering  me 
every  service  that  hospitality  could  suggest,  which  is 
seldom  met  with  in  America  except  in  the  case  of  persons 
better  educated  than  the  common  people.  That  Lady 
suggested  that  I  should  wear  heavy  woollen  socks  over 
my  shoes.  She  herself  cut  me  out  a  pair  and  I  was  so 
surprised  at  the  comfort  I  derived  from  them  on  the  fol- 
lowing days  that  I  resolved  never  to  travel  in  the  season 
of  snow  and  frost  without  taking  the  precaution  to  have 

162  This  was  George  Madison,  brother  of  Bishop  Madison  of  Virginia. 
Born  about  1763,  he  served  in  the  Revolution  while  yet  a  boy,  and  enlisting  in 
the  regular  army  was  wounded  at  St.  Clair's  defeat  (1791),  and  again  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Shortly  after  this  visit  of  Michaux,  Madison  was  appointed 
state  auditor,  and  removed  to  Frankfort,  where  he  held  the  office  for  twenty 
ensuing  years.  In  1812  he  served  as  major  in  the  army,  was  captured  at  Raisin 
River,  and  sent  as  prisoner  to  Quebec.  Upon  his  exchange,  he  was  received 
in  Kentucky  with  great  rejoicing,  and  elected  governor  (1816),  but  died  during 
the  first  year  of  his  term. —  Ed. 


8  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

a  pair  in  my  Porte  Monteau.  In  the  evening  I  came  to  a 
place  three  Miles  from  Green  river  and  slept  at  the  house 
of  one  Walter;  I  slept  on  the  floor  and  my  horse  in  the 
open  air ;  but  I  was  accustomed  to  this. 

The  30th  I  crossed  the  Green  river  ferry  in  the  morning. 
The  cold  was  excessive  and  such  as  had  not  been  felt  for 
Many  years.  At  9  Miles  I  passed  by  Bacon  Creek  and  the 
Cabin  of  a  man  but  recently  settled  there  and  who  was 
unprovided  with  everything,  even  Maize,  needed  for 
the  sustenance  of  his  household.  At  22  Miles  from 
Green  River  is  the  House  of  one  Ragon  and  I  hurried  on 
to  reach  some  better  habitations  before  night.  26  Miles 
from  Green  River  I  perceived  a  House  200  toises163  from 
the  Road  situate  on  the  bank  of  a  Creek.  The  inhabi- 
tant was  a  German  who  had  been  settled  there  only  a 
year;  he  had  a  good  stable,  was  well  supplied  with  fodder 
of  wheat,  straw,  and  Maize  leaves  for  my  horse,  and  I  ate 
Wheat  bread  for  the  first  time  since  I  had  left  Illinois. 
My  supper  consisted  of  bread  and  milk  and  I  found  my- 
self very  well  treated.  The  name  of  my  host  was  George 
Cloes;  a  German  by  Birth;  his  house  is  situated  on  the 
South  fork  of  Nolin  river. 

Sunday  the  31st  passed  by  Huggins  mill164  on  Nolin 
river  (good  lodgings) ;  at  a  quarter  of  a  Mile  the  road  on 
the  right  hand  leads  to  Beardston.  At  2^  Miles  the 
new  cut  road  is  straight.  At  9  Miles  passed  by  Rolling 
fork  and  4  Miles  further  slept  at  Mr.  Scoth's  on  Beech 
fork. 

Monday  1st  of  February  1796  passed  by  Dr  Smith's 


183A  toise  is  a  French  linear  measure  equivalent  to  6.395  English  feet. —  Ed. 

164  This  mill  was  at  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Hodgenville,  seat  of  Larue 
County.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  about  two  miles  south  of  this  place,  when 
Larue  was  still  part  of  Hardin  County  —  Ed. 


i79 


1796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  89 


house  8  Miles  from  Beech  fork  and  by  Mackinsy  9  Miles 
from  Beech  fork.  From  Mac  Kinsy  to  Long  Lake  6 
Miles.  From  Longlake  to  Sheperdston  on  Salt  river  4 
miles.165  From  Shepperdston  to  Standeford  9  Miles 
(good  inn).  From  Standeford  to  Prince  Old  station  8 
Miles.     From  Prince  to  Louisville  6  Miles. 

The  2nd  started  from  Prince's  and  arrived  at  Louis- 
ville. 3^2  Miles  before  arriving  measured  a  Lirioden- 
dron  tulipijera  on  the  left  hand  road  whose  size  was 
twenty  two  feet  in  circumference,  making  more  than  seven 
feet  in  diameter.  (Correspondent  of  Monsieur  La  Cas- 
sagne  and  St.  James  Bauvais  at  New  Orleans  Monsieur 
Serpe  Trader  at  New  Orleans.166  Correspondent  of 
Monsieur  La  Cassagne  at  Philadelphia  Geguir  and 
Holmes,  Merchants,  Philadelphia.  Prices:  Dinner  1 
shilling  6  pence;  Supper  and  Breakfast  1  shilling  6  pence; 
Lodging  9  shillings;  }4  quart  of  Brandy  2  shillings  3 
pence;  Horse  per  day  on  hay  and  maize  3  shillings  9 
pence.) 

The  3rd,  4th  and  5th  remained  at  Louisville,  being 
occupied  in  gathering  together  the  Collections  I  had  left 
with  one  La  Cassagne. 

The  6th  I  saw  General  Clarke  and  he  informed  me  of 
the  visit  of  Colonel  Fulton  who  had  come  from  France  a 
few  months  previously.167 

165  Shepherdsville,  the  seat  of  Bullitt  County,  was  incorporated  as  a  town  in 
1793.  Its  site  was  at  the  falls  of  Salt  River,  and  it  was  an  important  station  in 
early  Kentucky  history. —  Ed. 

166  Gayoso  mentions  one  Sarpy,  a  rich  merchant  of  New  Orleans,  as  con- 
cerned in  the  plot  against  Louisiana  (1793).  Another  merchant,  Beauvais,  was 
similarly  involved.  Consult  American  Historical  Association  Report,  1896, 
p.  1049. —  Ed. 

187  Samuel  Fulton,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  who  had  lived  for  some  time 
among  the  Creek  Indians,  was  agent  for  Clark  in  settling  his  accounts  with  the 
French  government.     He  arrived  from  France  late  in   1795,  and  Michaux's 


90  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Sunday  the  7th  breakfasted  with  General  Clarke's 
Father  whose  house  is  4  miles  from  Louisville.  I  wanted 
to  obtain  more  ample  information  regarding  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Foulton.  I  was  told  that  he  was  to  proceed  to 
Philadelphia  immediately  after  having  gone  to  Georgia. 
That  he  was  to  embark  for  France  and  hoped  to  return 
to  America  at  the  end  of  this  summer  1796.  The  same 
day,  I  started  to  return  to  Nashville.  Slept  at  Stande- 
ford.  14  Miles  from  Louisville.  (Supper  1  shilling, 
Bed  6  pence.  Hay  for  the  horse  for  the  night  1  shilling. 
Maize  8  quarts  1  shilling  4  pence.) 

Monday  8th  of  February  1796.  (Breakfast  1  shilling) 
Passed  by  Sheperdston  9  Miles  from  Standeford.  Maize 
for  horse  3  quarts,  9  Pence,  Virginia  money,  as  in  all 
parts  of  Kentuckey  and  Cumberland.)  Passed  by  Long 
lake,  where  Salt  is  made  as  well  as  at  Sheperdston  and 
slept  at  Mackinsy's  7  Miles  from  Longlake. 

In  swampy  places  in  the  vicinity  of  Longlake:  Quercus 
alba;  Quercus  cerroides;  Fraxinus  .  .  .  ;  Nyssa;  Lau- 
rus  benjoin;  Sassafras;  Mitchella  repens;  Fagus  sylvatica 
americana. 

On  the  hills:  Pinusus  Joliis  geminis  conis  oblongis 
minoribus  squamis  aculeis  retrocurvis.  Saw  planks  of  this 
tree  at  the  house  of  an  inhabitant;  the  wood  seemed  to  me 
almost  as  heavy  as  that  of  the  three  leaved  Pine  of  Caro- 
lina.    Tar  is  also  made  of  it  in  this  part  of  Kentucky. 

The  9th  I  started  very  early  in  the  morning  from 
Mackinsy's.  I  had  been  very  well  received  there  that  is 
to  say  he  gave  me  a  supper  of  boiled  Pork;  the  same  for 

testimony  was  relied  upon  to  secure  the  affidavits  necessary  to  obtain  recom- 
pense from  the  French  republic.  See  American  State  Papers,  Indian  Affairs, 
i,  p.  463.  Consult,  also,  American  Historical  Association  Report,  1896, 
pp.  1047-1065. —  Ed. 

198  Probably  Pinus  inops,  Ait.—  C.  S.  S. 


i793-I796l  Andre  Michaux 's  Travels  91 

breakfast.  My  horse  fared  very  well  on  Maize  fodder 
and  in  a  Stable  that  was  not  muddy  like  all  those  in 
America  when  one  lodges  with  Americans  or  with  Irish. 

I  paid  3  shillings,  being  1  shilling  6  pence  for  my  horse 
and  as  much  for  myself.  I  had  paid  5  shillings  for  my 
lodging  the  previous  night  and  had  not  been  so  well  satis- 
fied. As  the  daughter  of  this  house  was  the  smartest 
of  any  I  had  ever  seen  in  America  I  gave  her  a  quarter 
of  a  Dollar  and  the  old  man  offered  me  a  stuffed  Tongue 
but  I  thanked  him,  not  being  fond  of  salt  meat. 

It  began  to  rain  an  hour  after  I  started  but  I  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  pass  Beechford  and  Rollingford.  13 
Miles  from  Mackinsy's. 

I  was  obliged  to  stop  at  the  house  of  an  inhabitant  a 
Mile  and  a  half  from  the  crossing  and  the  Rain  com- 
pelled me  to  pass  the  night  there. 

In  the  neighborhood  there  is  Liriodendron  with  yellow 
wood  and  in  some  parts  Liriodendron  with  white  wood. 
The  inhabitants  prefer  the  yellow  variety. 

Wednesday  10th  of  February  1796,  I  had  supped  the 
previous  evening  on  Tea  made  from  the  shrub  called 
Spice-wood.  A  handful  of  young  twigs  or  branches  is 
set  to  boil  and  after  it  has  boiled  at  least  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  sugar  is  added  and  it  is  drunk  like  real  Tea.  There 
was  no  Milk  at  the  time  and  I  was  told  that  Milk  makes 
it  much  more  agreeable  to  the  taste.  This  beverage 
restores  strength  and  it  had  that  effect  for  I  was  very 
tired  when  I  arrived.  This  shrub  is  the  Lanrus  Ben  join 
Linn.  The  Illinois  French  call  it  Poivrier  and  the  hunt- 
ers season  their  meat  with  some  pieces  of  its  wood. 

In  the  vicinity  grows  a  plant169  of  the  Orchis  family 
whose  leaf  remains  all  winter.     There  are  seldom  two; 


169 


Aplectrum  hyemale,  Nutt. —  C.  S.  S. 


9  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  form  is  oval,  furrowed,  entire;  the  root  bears  two  or 
three  very  viscous  bulbs.  It  is  used  in  the  Country  to 
mend  broken  crockery.  It  is  called  Adam  and  Eve.  This 
plant  is  more  common  in  the  rich  low  lands  of  the  terri- 
tory West  of  the  Allegany  Mountains.  I  have  also  seen 
it  in  Lower  Carolina  but  it  is  very  rare  there.  It  is  not 
rare  in  Illinois. 

Rain  continued  to  fall  all  day  and  I  was  obliged  to 
spend  the  night  in  a  house  near  Nolin  Creek  because  the 
river  had  overflowed  its  banks. 

The  nth  arrived  at  Huggins's  12  Miles  from  Rollin- 
ford. 

The  12th  passed  through  a  Country  covered  with  grass 
and  Oaks  which  no  longer  exist  as  forests,  having  been 
burned  every  year.  These  lands  are  called  Barren  lands 
although  not  really  sterile.  The  grasses  predominate: 
Salix  puniila,  Quercus  nigra  and  Quercus  alba  called 
Mountain  White  Oak.  Gnaphalium  dioicum  also  grows 
there  in  abundance.  It  is  called  by  the  Americans  White 
Plantain. 

The  same  day  12th  of  February  1796  passed  by  Bacon 
Creek,  a  new  settlement  19  Miles  from  Huggins  Mill  and 
arrived  at  Green  river  9  Miles  from  Bacon  Creek.  Slept 
3  Miles  further  on  at  the  house  of  one  Walter. 

The  13th  of  February  traveled  37  Miles  without  seeing 
a  House  through  the  lands  called  Barren  lands.  The 
Salix  pumila  that  grows  there  in  abundance  is  the  same 
as  that  which  is  very  common  in  the  Illinois  prairies  as 
one  leaves  Vincennes  Post  to  go  to  Kaskaskia.  Slept 
beyond  the  Big  Barren  river 

Sunday  the  14th  traveled  about  30  Miles.  In  all  the 
Houses  the  children  were  suffering  from  Hooping  Cough. 
This  disease  probably  results  from  a  simple  Cold  but  the 


1793-1796]  Andre  Michaux  s  Travels  93 

. , 

reprehensible  system  of  living  continually  on  salt  and 
smoked  meat  fried  in  the  pan  produces  those  acrid 
humors  that  render  expectoration  more  difficult. 

The  15th  traveled  27  Miles  and  arrived  at  Nashville. 
Supper,  bed  and  breakfast  2  shillings. 

The  1 6th  started  to  go  and  visit  Colonel  Hays170  a 
wealthy  inhabitant  to  whom  I  had  been  recommended 
the  previous  year  by  Governor  Blount,  Governor  of  the 
Country  known  under  the  name  of  Western  territories, 
South  west  of  the  Ohio.  This  Country,  which  is  esti- 
mated to  have  60  Thousand  inhabitants,  in  consequence 
of  the  considerable  annual  immigration  and  of  the  rapid 
increase  of  population,  has  just  been  erected  into  a  State 
governed  by  its  own  representatives  under  the  new  name 
of  the  State  of  Tennesee  from  the  name  of  a  very  large 
river  that  runs  through  the  whole  Houlston  Country,  the 
Cumberland  Country,  the  Country  of  the  Cheroquis 
Indians  and  other  adjacent  countries.  This  large  river 
falls  into  the  Ohio  9  Miles  above  fort  Massac.  It  was 
known  by  the  French,  who  were  the  first  to  discover  the 
Countries  in  the  interior  of  North  America,  under  the 
name  of  Cheroquis  River  and  it  is  so  designated  on  the 
French  Maps.  I  met  at  Colonel  Hays's  several  inhabi- 
tants of  the  neighborhood  who  came  to  confer  upon  cur- 
rent matters  in  connection  with  the  election  of  new  civil 
and  military  Officers. 

The  17th  and  18th  of  February  1796  remained  at 
Colonel  Hays'  on  account  of  bad  weather. 

The  19th  concluded  the  bargain  for  the  purchase  of  a 

170  Col.  Robert  Hays,  a  brother-in-law  of  Andrew  Jackson,  was  born  in 
North  Carolina,  and  served  in  the  Revolution,  being  captured  at  Charleston. 
He  removed  to  Cumberland  in  1784,  was  first  United  States  marshal  of  Ten- 
nessee, muster-master-general  for  Jackson  in  1813,  and  died  at  his  home  near 
Nashville  in  1819. —  Ed. 


94  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Horse  to  convey  the  baggage,  Collections  of  Plants, 
Birds  and  other  Things  I  had  brought  from  Illinois  and 
recently  from  Kentuckey.  Returned  the  same  day  to 
sleep  at  Nashville. 

The  20th  spent  the  entire  day  in  getting  my  collections 
together  and  in  packing  them.  Saw  some  French  voy- 
ageurs  who  spend  all  their  lives  in  the  Trade  with  the 
Savages  and  asked  the  Terms  on  which  I  could  obtain  a 
Guide  to  go  up  the  Missouri  river.  One  of  them  named 
.  .  .  told  me  he  would  willingly  engage  for  a  year  for 
the  sum  of  500  dollars  in  furs  that  is  to  say  1000  dollars  in 
money;  another  asked  me  2000  dollars  in  money. 

Sunday  the  21st  prepared  for  my  journey. 

The  22nd  had  my  two  horses  shod. 

The  23rd  started  and  after  making  two  Miles  was 
obliged  to  return  on  account  of     .     .     . 

The  25th  started  to  return  to  Carolina  and  slept  10 
Miles  away  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Mansko,  a  declared 
enemy  of  the  French  because,  he  said,  they  have  killed 
their  King.  Although  I  had  not  dined  I  would  not 
accept  his  supper  believing  that  a  Republican  should  not 
be  under  obligations  to  a  fanatical  partisan  of  Royalty. 
I  was  greatly  mortified  that  the  night  and  the  rain  should 
compel  me  to  remain  in  his  House.  But  I  slept  on  my 
Deer  skin  and  paid  for  the  Maize  he  supplied  me  with 
to  cross  the  Wilderness. 

The  26th 

Sunday  28th  of  February  1796  stopped  ten  miles  from 
the  river  on  account  of  the  Rain  and  because  the  Creeks 
had  overflowed  their  banks. 

The  29th  in  the  evening  crossed  the  Creeks  and  slept 
in  the  Wood  near  the  road  at  a  place  where  Reeds  or 
Canes   were   growing   in    abundance.     This   species   of 


I793-I796l  Andre  Michaux' s  Travels  95 

grass  which  grows  abundantly  in  many  places  which  have 
not  been  settled,  is  destroyed  when  completely  eaten 
by  Cattle;  Swine  also  destroy  it  by  rooting  in  the  earth 
and  breaking  the  roots.  The  stalk  is  sometimes  as  thick 
as  a  goose  quill,  but  in  the  rich  lands  bordering  on  the 
rivers  and  between  the  mountains,  some  stalks  are  as 
much  as  2  and  even  three  inches  in  diameter;  the  height 
is  sometimes  from  25  to  30  feet.  This  grass  is  ramose 
but  it  seldom  bears  fruit  in  the  territory  of  Kentuckey, 
in  that  of  Tenesee  or  in  that  of  the  Carolinas.  This 
grass  begins  in  the  southern  and  maritime  portion  of  Vir- 
ginia. Further  South  as  in  the  Carolinas,  in  the  Floridas 
and  in  Lower  Louisiana,  this  grass  is  found  in  abun- 
dance.171 

Snow  fell  throughout  the  night  and  on  the  following 
morning  my  two  Horses  that  had  been  tied  had  their  legs 
swelled  in  consequence  of  the  cold  and  of  the  continually 
muddy  roads  over  which  I  had  traveled  the  previous  day. 

The  1st  of  March  1796  arrived  at  Fort  Blount  situated 
on  the  Cumberland  River.172  Snow  continued  to  fall  dur- 
ing a  part  of  the  day. 

The  2nd  remained  over  in  order  to  pull  young  Shoots 
of  a  new  Sophora173  I  had  remarked  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fleen's  [Flinns]  creek  about   12   Miles  from  the  Fort. 

171  Arundinaria  macrosperma,  Michx. —  C.  S.  S. 

172  Fort  Blount  was  not  a  pioneer  stronghold,  but  one  erected  by  the  govern- 
ment shortly  before  Michaux's  visit,  for  protection  of  the  settlers  against  the 
Cherokees.  It  was  on  the  north  bank  of  Cumberland  River,  in  the  south- 
western part  of  Jackson  County,  about  midway  between  the  Eastern  and  West- 
ern Tennessee  settlements. —  Ed. 

173  Cladrastis  tinctoria  Raf.,  discovered  here  by  Michaux,  although  not  in- 
cluded in  his  Flora.  A  letter  written  by  Michaux  to  Governor  Blount  suggest- 
ing the  value  of  the  wood  of  this  tree  as  a  dye  wood,  was,  according  to  the  younger 
Michaux,  published  in  the  Knoxville  Gazette,  on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1769. 
[See  his  journal,  post.] —  C.  S.  S. 


9  6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Snow  covered  the  ground  and  I  was  unable  to  get  any 
young  Shoots  but  Captain  Williams,  the  young  [officer] 
stationed  in  the  Fort  cut  down  some  trees  and  I  found 
some  good  seeds. 

I  also  pulled  up  some  roots  of  those  trees  to  replant 
them  in  my  garden  in  Carolina. 

The  same  day  I  had  occasion  to  write  to  Governor 
Blount. 

The  3rd  of  March  continued  my  journey;  crossed 
Fleen's  Creek  several  times.  Saw  again  the  small  bul- 
bous umbelliferous  plant  I  had  remarked  some  days 
previously.     Toward  evening  the  road  was  less  muddy. 

The  4th  arrived  at  the  Mountains  called  Cumberland 
mountains. 

The  5th  passed  several  Creeks  and  Rivers  on  which  is 
an  abundance  of  a  climbing  Fern  of  the  genus     .     .     .174 

The  land  through  which  these  rivers  flow  is  less  fertile 
than  the  territory  of  Nashville  or  Cumberland  settlement 
and  two-leaved  Pines  are  found  there  in  abundance. 

Sunday  6th  of  March  1 796  arrived  at  West  Point  on  the 
Clinch  River. 

The  7th  slept  at  a  distance  of  15  Miles  near  the  junction 
of  the  Houlston  river  with  that  called  Tenesee. 

The  8th  arrived  at  Knoxville. 

The  9th  Dined  with  Governor  William  Blount. 

The  10th  took  my  lodgings  in  the  house  of  Captain 
Loune  near  the  Cumberland  river.175 

The  nth  herborised  on  the  opposite  bank  bordered  by 
steep  rocks  covered  with  Saxifrage,  bulbous  umbellijera 
etc. 

174  Lygodium  palmatum  Swz. —  C.  S.  S. 

175  The  Looneys  were  a  prominent  family  in  the  early  history  of  East  Ten- 
nessee. Captain  David  Looney  was  militia  officer  during  the  Revolution  and 
the  Indian  wars. —  Ed. 


i793-I796]  Andre  Mic/iaux's  Travels  97 

The  12th  continued  to  herborise. 

Sunday  the  13th,  Visited  Captain  Richard,  Command- 
ant of  the  garrison. 

The  14th  herborised;  saw  in  bloom,  Anemone  hepatica; 
Claytonia  Virginica;  Sanguinaria. 

Saw  a  new  genus  of  Plant  designated  by  Linnaeus 
Podophyllum  diphyllum  and  discovered  some  years  ago 
in  Virginia  while  passing  by  Fort  Chissel.  This  Plant  is 
less  rare  in  the  fertile  lands  of  Kentuckey  and  Cumber- 
land. It  is  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Knoxville. 
Dr  Barton176  called  it  Jeffersonia  in  a  description  he  gave 
of  this  Plant  after  seeing  the  flower  of  the  Shoots  I  had 
brought  back  to  Philadelphia  in  the  hands  of  the  Botanist 
Bartram.177  The  time  when  the  plant  flowers  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Knoxville  is  about  the  10th  of  March. 

The  15th  received  the  Letter  from  Governor  Blount  in 
answer  to  that  I  had  written  him  respecting  the  discovery 
of  a  new  Sophora  in  the  neighborhood  of  fort  Blount. 
Started  the  same  day  and  slept  at  a  distance  of  7  Miles. 
Paid  2  shillings  3  pence  for  Supper  and  for  Maize  and 
fodder  for  the  Horses.     Bundle  of  fodder  2  pence. 

The  1 6th  of  March  1796  slept  a  mile  from  Iron  Works 
at  the  house  of  Mr  Rice,  Lawyer,  30  Miles  from  Knoxville. 


176  Dr.  Benjamin  S.  Barton  was  one  of  the  best  known  scientists  and  natu- 
ralists of  his  day,  as  well  as  a  skilful  physician.  Born  in  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania, he  was  educated  in  Europe  and  took  up  practice  in  Philadelphia.  In 
1789,  he  was  made  professor  of  botany  and  natural  history  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania;  he  was  vice-president  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and 
member  of  other  learned  organizations.  He  was  designated  to  edit  the  scien- 
tific data  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  expedition,  but  died  before  accomplishing  this 
(1815).—  Ed. 

177  William  Bartram,  son  and  co-worker  of  John  Bartram,  one  of  America's 
first  naturalists,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1739.  He  devoted  his  life  to  the 
study  of  botany,  travelling  extensively  for  the  discovery  of  plants.  His  head- 
quarters were  at  the  botanical  gardens  near  Philadelphia. —  Ed. 


98  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Observed  in  bloom:  Ulmns  viscosa,  Acer  rubrum  S  flower 
on  one  individual  and  ?  flower  on  another  tree. 

The  17th  slept  near  Bull's  gap  30  Miles  from  Iron 
Works. 

The  1 8th  passed  by  Lick  creek  and  by  Green  court 
house  18  Miles  from  Bull's  gap. 

The  19th  passed  by  Johnsborough  25  Miles  from 
Green  [ville].  Several  merchants  are  established  at 
Johnsborough  who  obtain  their  goods  from  Philadelphia 
by  land. 

Sunday  the  20th  started  from  Johnsborough.  Saw  in 
passing  Mr  Overton  of  Kentuckey,178  Major  Carter  of 
Wataga179  at  whose  house  I  had  lodged  several  years 
previously  with  my  son,  and  Colonel  Avery. 

Sunday  20th  of  March  1796  saw  in  bloom  Corylus 
americana,  2  flower  having  the  Styles  or  Stigmas  of  a 
purpurine  color.  Ulmus  viscosa  geminis  aureis  floribus 
4-^-6-andris,  stigmatibus  purpureas. 

Acer  rubrum  $  flower  on  one  individual  and  ?  flower 
on  another.  Slept  at  Colonel  Tipton's  10  Miles  from 
Johnsborough. 

The  2 1  st  remarked  that  the  Mountains  were  covered 
in  several  places  with  Sanguinaria,  Claytonia  and  Ery- 

178  John  Overton  was  one  of  the  best-known  jurists  of  Tennessee.  Born  in 
Virginia,  he  early  emigrated  to  Kentucky,  whence  he  removed  to  Nashville, 
about  the  time  Jackson  began  his  career.  He  became  Jackson's  partner  and 
warm  friend.  From  1804-10  he  was  judge  of  the  superior  court,  and  of  great 
service  in  adjusting  land  titles;  the  next  five  years  (1811-16)  Judge  Overton 
served  on  the  supreme  bench  of  the  state.  He  was  one  of  the  early  proprietors 
of  Memphis;  and  died  near  Nashville  in  1833. —  Ed. 

179  John  Carter  was  the  foremost  man  of  the  early  Watauga  settlement. 
Coming  from  North  Carolina,  he  had  the  prestige  of  family  and  a  superior 
education,  and  was  chosen  head  of  the  new  community,  serving  efficiently  in 
many  capacities.  He  was  concerned  in  the  State  of  Franklin  movement,  and 
was  frequently  called  out  at  the  head  of  the  militia,  on  Indian  expeditions. 
Carter  County  was  named  for  him,  and  he  had  therein  a  large  estate. —  Ed. 


1793-1796]  Andre  Michaux's  Travels  99 

thronium  with  spotted  leaves.  These  Plants  were  in 
bloom.  Magnolia  acuminata  et  auriculata;  Rhododen- 
dran;  Kalmia;  Finns  abies  canadensis,  Pinus  strobus; 
Azalea  etc.  etc.  grow  in  abundance  at  the  foot  of  those 
Mountains.  Arrived  at  Lime  Stone  cove  and  slept  at 
Charles  Collier's  18  Miles  from  Colonel  Tipton's. 

The  22nd  crossed  Iron  Mountain  and  arrived  at  night 
at  David  Becker's,  23  Miles  without  seeing  a  house. 

The  23rd  started  from  Becker's  on  Cane  Creek  to 
Rider's  6  Miles;  from  Rider's  to  Widow  Nigh's  7  Miles; 
from  Nigh's  to  Samuel  Ramsey's  2  Miles;  from  Ramsey's 
to  David  Cox's  on  Paper  Creek  4  Miles  and  from  Cox's 
to  Young's  1  Mile;  from  Sam  Ramsey's  to  Davinport's 
8  Miles.180  Total  23  Miles.  Slept  at  Davinport's. 
Remarked  the  Salix  capreoides  in  flower  on  the  banks  of 
the  streams. 

The  24th  visited  the  high  Mountains  opposite  Davin- 
port's house;  pulled  up  several  hundred  Shoots:  Azalea 
lutea  fulva;  Anonymos  azaleoides.  Rhododendron  minus 
etc. 

The  25th  of  March  1796.  Saw  in  flower  the  Corylus 
comuta,1*1  amentis  6  geminis  quandoque  solitariis  squamis 
ciliatis;  antheris  apice  ciliates,  stylis  coccineis. 

This  species  flowers  about  15  days  later  than  the  species 
of  Corylus  americana  found  in  all  the  Climates  of  North 

180  Michaux  returned  across  the  mountains  by  a  different  route  from  the 
one  by  which  he  went  out.  The  northern  or  upper  road  over  Yellow  Moun- 
tain appears  to  have  been  the  more  frequented;  the  lower  road,  over  the  Iron 
Mountain  range  and  down  the  Nolichucky,  the  more  direct.  See  the  younger 
Michaux's  account  (post)  of  the  difficulties  of  this  route,  when  he  passed  over 
it  six  years  later.  Limestone  Cove  was  probably  at  the  mouth  of  Limestone 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Nolichucky  on  the  western  or  Tennessee  side  of  the 
mountain.  Cane  and  Paper  Creeks  are  small  tributaries  of  the  Nolichucky, 
on  the  eastern  or  North  Carolina  grade  of  the  mountains. —  Ed. 

181  C.  rostrata,  Ait.—  C.  S.  S. 


i  oo  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

America  even  in  lower  Carolina  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Charleston.  The  Corylus  cornuta  is  found  only  on  the 
highest  mountains  and  in  Canada.  Corylus  americana 
amentis  t>  solitariis  squamis  externe  tomentosis  margine 
nudd;  floris  ?  styhs  coccineis. 

The  26th  herborised  and  pulled  Shoots  of  shrubs  and 
fresh  Shoots  to  transport  them  to  the  garden  of  the  Repub- 
lic in  Carolina. 

Sunday  27th  of  March    .     .     . 

The  28th  prepared  and  packed  my  Collection  of  fresh 
Mountain  Plants. 

The  29th  started  from  Davinport's  and  slept  at  the 
house  of  .  .  .  Young.  Violet  with  dentate  reniform 
leaves,  villous  petiole  and  yellow  flower  in  full  bloom  on 
the  banks  of  streams  and  very  cool  places. 

The  30th  continued  my  journey  and  by  mistake  took  a 
road  to  the  right  leading  to  Wilkes  [County].  Another 
Viole  lutea  scopus  joliosus  foliis  hastatis  in  flower  in  cool 
places  and  also  less  damp  places.  This  one  is  a  little 
more  tardy  than  the  previous  one.182 

The  31st  arrived  at  Colonel  Avery's  and  slept  at  Mor- 
ganton  or  Burke  Court  house. 

Friday  1st  of  April  1796,  started  from  Morganton. 
Slept  at  Robertson's,  formerly  Henry  Waggner's,  30 
Miles  from  Morganton. 

The  2nd  of  April  Epigea  repens  in  full  bloom  as  on 
previous  days;  on  several  individuals  all  the  female 
flowers  were  without  rudiments  of  Stamens  while  on 
other  individuals  all  the  flowers  were  hermaphrodites. 
Arrived  at  noon  at  the  house  of  Christian  Reinhart  near 
Lincoln.  Remained  all  day  to  pull  shoots  of  the  Spiraea 
tomentosa  that  grow  in  swampy  spots. 

182  V.  hastata,  Michx  —  C.  S.  S. 


1793-1796]  Afidre  Michaux's  Travels  ici 

Sunday  3rd  of  April  arrived  at  Bennet  Smith's  12  Miles 
from  Lincoln;  remained  all  day  to  pull  shoots  of  a  new 
Magnolia183  with  very  large  leaves,  auriculate,  oblong, 
glaucous,  silky,  especially  the  young  leaves;  the  buds  very 
silky;  Flowers  white  Petals  with  a  base  of  a  purple  color. 
Stamens  yellow  etc.  Along  the  Creek  on  the  bank  of 
which  this  Magnolia  grows  I  also  saw  the  Kalmia  latijolia, 
Viola  lutea,  foliis  hastatis;  Ulmus  viscosa  then  in  process 
of  fructification ;  Halesia;  Stewartia  pentagyna. 

The  4th  started  and  crossed  Tuck-a-segee  ford  on  the 
Catawba184  river  10  Miles  from  Bennet  Smith's.  Took 
the  road  to  the  left  instead  of  passing  by  Charlotte  and 
slept  11  Miles  from  Catawba  river.185 

The  5th  of  April  1796  at  a  distance  of  12  Miles  took 
once  more  the  road  leading  from  Cambden  to  Charlotte.186 

Took  Shoots  of  Calamus  aromaticus  that  grows  in 
damp  places  in  the  neighborhood  of  Charlotte  and  of 
Lincoln.  Rhus  pumila.  Slept  near  Waxsaw  Creek  in 
South  Carolina  about  35  Miles  from  Tuck-a-Segee  ford. 

The  6th  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Crawford  near  Waxsaw 
Creek :  anonymous  Plant  with  leaves  quatemate,  perfoliate, 
glabrous,  entire.    This  same  Plant  grows  in  the  Settle- 

183  M.  macrophylla,  Michx.—  C.  S.  S. 

184  Tuckasegee  Ford  is  between  the  present  Gaston  County  and  Mechlen- 
burg,  about  ten  miles  west  of  Charlotte. —  Ed. 

185  Note:  before  passing  the  ford,  I  dined  with  .  .  .  Alexander,  a  very 
respectable  man  from  whom  I  have  received  many  courtesies. —  Michaux. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  from  this  allusion,  which  of  the  numerous 
Alexander  family  Michaux  visited.  The  Alexanders  of  Mechlenburg  were 
noted  as  patriotic,  God-fearing,  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  who  had  a  large 
share  in  the  Revolutionary  War  in  their  country.  Abraham  presided  at  the 
Mechlenburg  Convention  (1775),  of  which  Adam  and  John  McKnitt  Alexander 
were  both  members. —  Ed. 

188  When  one  does  not  wish  to  pass  by  Charlotte  in  going  to  Lincoln,  he  must 
inquire  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  before  reaching  these,  for  the  route  to  the  left 
which  passes  by  Tuckasegee  Ford. —  Michaux. 


1-0-2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

ments  of  Cumberland  and  in  Kentuckey.  Frasera 
foetida.1*7 

Passed  by  Hanging  Rock;  the  distance  from  Waxsaw 
to  Hanging  Rock  is  22  Miles.  To  go  to  Morganton  or 
Burke  Court  house  one  should  not  pass  by  Charlotte, 
but  take  the  Road  to  the  left  3  j4  Miles  from  Hanging 
Rock. 

About  20  Toises  after  leaving  the  fork  of  the  two  roads 
(one  of  which  leads  to  Charlotte)  one  sees  the  Anony- 
mous™* shrub  with  a  red  root  which  has  the  appearance  of 
the  Calycanthus.  This  shrub  is  the  one  I  saw  in  the 
vicinity  of  Morganton.     Slept  near  Hanging  Rock. 

Thursday  7th  of  April  1796  arrived  at  Cambden;  five 
or  six  Miles  before  arriving  there  pulled  Shoots  of  a  new 
Kalmia  seen  some  years  previously.  The  distance  from 
Hanging  Rock  to  Cambden  is  26  Miles. 

Friday  8th  of  April  started  from  Cambden,  passed  by 
State's  borough  22  Miles  from  Cambden  and  slept  at 
Manchester  30  Miles  from  Cambden. 

The  9th  my  Horses  strayed  away  during  the  night, 
having  broken  the  Fence  within  which  they  were  placed. 

In  the  streams:  Callitriche  americana;  fructificatio 
simplex,  axillaris  sessilis,  Calyx  2-phyllus,  stamen  uni- 
cum;  filamentum  longum,  latere  geminis  germen  duplex? 
styli  duo  longitudine  stam-'nis,  stigmata  acuta. 

Silene  .  .  .  calyx  5-ftdus  cylindricus,  corolla  Petala 
5  (or  5 -partita  usque  ad  basim)  unguibus  angustis,  laciniis 
planis   apice   obtusis;   Stamina  10   basi   corolla   inserta; 

187  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  may  refer  to  F.  Caroliniana,  Walt.  (F. 
Walteri,  Michx.).—  C.  S.  S. 

188  It  is  not  at  all  clear  what  shrub  Michaux  refers  to  in  this  entry.  Mr. 
Canby,  to  whom  several  of  the  doubtful  points  in  the  Journal  have  been  referred, 
and  whose  knowledge  of  the  plants  of  the  Allegheny  region  is  now  unrivaled, 
suggests  that  Michaux  may  have  found  Darbya.  There  is  nothing  in  his 
herbarium  to  indicate  that  he  ever  saw  that  plant,  which  was  found,  however, 
by  M.  A.  Curtis  not  far  fro  m  Morganton. —  C.  S.  S. 


i793"I796]  Andre  Michanx's  Travels  103 

Germen  oblongum.  Styli  ires;  stigmata  acuta;  Capsula 
unilocularis,  semina  plura  numerosa,  /lores  rosei.1SQ 

Started  in  the  afternoon  and  slept  at  15  Miles  having 
crossed  10  Miles  of  sand  called  Santee  High  Hills  in  the 
space  of  which  observed  Phlox;  Silene  .  .  .  ;  Dian- 
thus  ...  in  flower;  Lupinus  perennis  et  pilosus 
in  flower. 

Sunday  10th  of  April  1796  arrived  at  the  Santee  River 
at  the  place  called  Manigault  ferry;  before  arriving  there 
observed  Verbena  (aubletia?)  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Santee,  arbor  Anonymous  whose  fruit  (muricatis)  covered 
with  soft  points,  was  almost  ripe.190  Manigault  ferry  is 
28  Miles  from  Manchester. 

Two  miles  further  on  one  takes  the  road  to  the  right 
called  Gaillard  road  which  is  shorter  than  the  ordinary 
road  but  muddy  in  winter.  Slept  at  the  house  of  the 
Widow  Stuard  18  Miles  from  Manigault  ferry.  Tavern 
dirty  and  without  a  supply  of  fodder  for  Horses. 

The  nth  started  very  early;  at  a  distance  of  5  Miles 
remarked  Lupinus  perennis  and  Lupinus  pilosus  in 
flower.  Distance  from  Charleston  40  to  43  Miles.  Ar- 
rived at  the  garden  of  the  Republic  37  Miles  from  the 
Widow  Stuard's  that  is  to  say  47  Miles  from  Charleston. 

Recapitulation  of  the  journey  from  Illinois  to  Charleston. 

From  St  Louis  of  the  Illinois  to  Kaskias       .  4  Miles 
To  the  village  of  St  Philippe      ...  45 
To  the  Prairie  du  Rocher           ...           9 
To  Kaskaskias         .....  45 
To  the  junction  of  the  Mississipi  and  Belle  Ri- 
viere              95 

189  Probably  Silene  Pennsylvanica  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Canby,  or  5.  Bald- 
■winii,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Meehan.  In  both  of  the  species  the  petals  are  some- 
times rose  colored. —  C.  S.  S. 

190  Planera  aquatica,  Gmelin. —  C.  S.  S. 


104 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  3 


To  Fort  Massac 

45  Miles 

To  the  Junction  of  the  Cumberland  and  Belle 

Riviere        .... 

.                         a 

18 

To  Clark's  ville  on  the  red  river 

.                         . 

120 

To  Nashville 

•                         . 

60 

To  Bloodshed's  lick191       . 

. 

30 

To  Fort  Blount  on  the  Cumberland 

river     . 

40 

To  West  Point  on  the  Clinch  river 

•         . 

90 

To  Knoxville  on  the  Houlston  river 

.                                 a 

40 

From  Knoxville  to  Iron  Works 

•                                  . 

30 

To  Bull's  gap 

. 

30 

To  Green's  ville 

. 

. 

25 

To  John's  borough 

• 

- 

25 

To  Colonel  Tipton's 

• 

• 

10 

To  Limestone  cove 

. 

.                                  . 

18 

To  David  Becker's  beyond  the  Mountain  called 

Iron  mountain 

•                                  • 

23 

From  Backer's  to  Young's 

. 

20 

To  Morganton  or  Burke 

. 

22 

To  Robertson's 

. 

30 

To  Lincoln 

,         . 

•                                  • 

16 

To  Tuck  a  Segee 

. 

•                                 m 

22 

To  Wax  Saw  Creek 

. 

. 

35 

To  Hanging  Rock    . 

. 

. 

22 

To  Cambden  . 

,         • 

. 

26 

To  Manchester 

,         . 

.                                  . 

30 

To  Manigault  ferry 

. 

• 

28 

To  Charleston 

- 

• 

70 

Total 

m 

.     1 123  Miles 

374  1  ll 

1  leagues 

191  Bledsoe's  Lick.  A  pioneer  told  Lyman  C.  Draper  that  this  was  often 
called  "the  Bloody  Ground,"  because  so  many  whites  were  there  killed  by 
Indians  —  note  in  Draper  MSS.,  Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  3  XX  18. —  Ed. 


Travels  to  the  West  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
by  Francois  Andre  Michaux 


Reprint  from  London  edition,  1805 


LOTiGITVliE  J>u  JfMRinmivs  Pajus 


ZoxGircrtF.  j>r  MxJtwih?  IJ£  i.'Iaut nxlvtx 


TRAVELS 

TO  THE  WEST  OF  THE 

+4JLZ,EGH*AJVY  MOUJVTMJVS, 


IN  THE  STATES   OP 


#^0, 


KENTUCKY,  AND  TENNESSEA, 

AND  BACK  TO  CHARLESTON,    BY    THE    UPPER 

CAROLINES; 

COMPRISING 

The  most  interesting  Details  on  the  present  State  of 

8grtcultute, 

AND 

THE  NATURAL  PRODUCE  OF  THOSE  COUNTRIES; 

TOGETHER    WITH 

Particulars  relative  to  the  Commerce  that  exists  hetpeen  tlie  above* 

mentioned  States,  and  those  situated  East  of  the  Mountains 

and  Low' Louisiana, 

UNDERTAKEN,    IN   THE   YEAR   1802, 

UNDER    THE    AI/SPICB3    OF 

His  Excellency  M.  CHAPTAL,    Minister  of  the  Interior, 

By  F.  A.  MICHAUX, 

MEMBER  OF  THE  SOCIETY   OF  NATURAL   HISTORY   AT   PARIS;   CORRES* 

PONDENT  OF  THE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  IN  THE  DEPARTMENT 

OF  THE  SEINE  aND   OISE. 


lontjon; 

hsM  by  D.  N.  5 HURT ,  Berwick  Street,  Soke 

FOR  B.  CROSBY  AND  CO.   STATIONERS'   COURT} 

AND   J.  F.   HUGHES,   W1GMORE    STREET,   CAVENDISH   SttUARSfc 

1805. 


TRAVELS 

TO  THE  WEST  OF.  THE 

>dJLLEGH*AJVY  MOUJVTJLMVSs 


IN  THE   STATES  OP 


Wo, 


KENTUCKY,  AND  TENNESSEA, 

AND  BACK  TO  CHARLESTON,    BY    THE    UPPER 

CAROLINES; 

COMPRISING 

The  most  interesting  Details  on  the  present  State  of 

Sericulture, 

AND 

THE  NATURAL   PRODUCE  OF  THOSE  COUNTRIES; 

TOGETHER    WITH 

Particulars  relative  to  the  Commerce  that  exists  between  tlte  above* 

mentioned  States,  and  those  situated  East  of  the  Mountains 

and  Low  Louisiana, 

UNDERTAKEN,    IN    THE   YEAR    1802, 

ONDER    THE    AUSPICD9    OF 

His  Excellency  M.  CHAPTAL,    Minister  of  the  Interior, 

By  F.  A.  MICHAUX, 

MEMBER  OF  THE  SOCIETY   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY   AT   PARIS;   CORRES* 

PONfcENT  OF  THE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY  IN  THE  DEPABTMENT 

OF  THE  SEINE   aND   OISE. 


iomxmt 

Fnated  by  D.  N.  SHURT,  Berwick  Street,  Soh«  ■ 

FOB  B.  CROSBY  AND  CO.   STATIONERS'   COURT} 

AND   3,   F.   HUGHES^    W1GMORE    STREET,   CAVENDISH   SQUARXi 

1805. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  I 

Departure  from  Bourdeaux. — Arrival  at  Charleston. — Re- 
marks upon  the  yellow  fever. — A  short  description  of  the 
town  of  Charleston. — Observations  upon  several  trees, 
natives  of  the  old  continent,  reared  in  a  botanic  garden  near 
the  city  ........  117 

CHAP.  II 

Departure  from  Charleston  for  New  York. — A  short  description 
of  the  town. — Botanic  excursions  in  New  Jersey. — Re- 
marks upon  the  quercus  tinctoria,  or  black  oak,  and  the  nut 
trees  of  that  country. — Departure  from  New  York  for 
Philadelphia. — Abode      .         .         .         .         .         .  125 

[vi]  CHAP.  Ill 

Departure  from  Philadelphia  to  the  western  country. — Commu- 
nications by  land  in  the  United  States. — Arrival  at  Lancas- 
ter.— Description  of  the  town  and  its  environs. — Departure. 
— Columbia. — Passage  from  Susquehannah,  York,  Dover, 
Carlisle. — Arrival  at  Shippensburgh. — Remarks  upon  the 
state  of  agriculture  during  the  journey  .         .         .  132 

CHAP.  IV 

Departure  from  Shippensburgh  to  Strasburgh. — Journey  over 
the  Blue  Ridges. — New  Species  of  rhododendrum. — Passage 
over  the  river  Juniata. — Use  of  the  cones  of  the  magnolia 
acuminata. — Arrival  at  Bedford  Court  House. — Excesses 
to  which  the  natives  of  that  part  of  the  country  are  ad- 
dicted.— Departure  from  Bedford. — Journey  over  Alle- 
ghany Ridge  and  Laurel  Hill. — Arrival  at  West  Liberty 
Town 141 


I  I  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol .  3 

CHAP.  V 

Departure  from  West  Liberty  Town  to  go  among  the  mountains 

in  search  of  a  shrub  supposed  to  give  good  oil,  a  new  species 
of  azalea. — Ligonier  Valley. — Coal  Mines. — Greensburgh. 

— Arrival  at  Pittsburgh    .         .         .         .         .         .  149 

[vii]    CHAP.  VI 

Description  of  Pittsburgh. — Commerce  of  the  Town  and  ad- 
jacent countries  with  New  Orleans. — Construction  of  large 
vessels. — Description  of  the  rivers  Monongahela  and  Alle- 
ghany.— Towns  situated  on  their  banks. — Agriculture. — 
Maple  sugar      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .156 

CHAP.  VII 

Description  of  the  Ohio. — Navigation  of  that  river. — Mr.  S. 
Craft. — The  object  of  his  travels. — Remarks  upon  the  state 
of  Vermont    ........  163 

CHAP.  VIII 

Departure  from  Pittsburgh  for  Kentucky. — Journey  by  land  to 
Wheeling. — State  of  agriculture  on  the  route. — West  Liber- 
ty Town  in  Virginia. — Wheeling         .         .         .         .  168 

CHAP.  IX 

Departure  from  Wheeling  for  Marietta. — Aspect  of  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio. — Nature  of  the  forests. — Extraordinary  size  of 
several  kinds  of  trees        .         .         .         .         .         .  172 

[viii]    CHAP.  X 

Marietta. — Ship  building. — Departure  for  Gallipoli. — Falling 
in  with  a  Kentucky  boat. — Point  Pleasant. — The  Great 
Kenhaway     ........  177 

CHAP.  XI 

Gallipoli. — State  of  the  French  colony  Scioto. — Alexandria  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Scioto. — Arrival  at  Limestone  in 
Kentucky       .........  182 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  1 1  3 

CHAP.  XII 

Fish  and  shells  of  the  Ohio. — Inhabitants  on  the  banks  of  the 
river. — Agriculture. — American  emigrant. — Commercial  in- 
telligence relative  to  that  part  of  the  United  States         .  188 

CHAP.  XIII 

Limestone. — Route  from  Limestone  to  Lexinton. — Washington. 

— Salt-works  at  Mays-Lick. — Millesburgh. — Paris       .  195 

CHAP.  XIV 

Lexinton. — Manufactories  established  there. — Commerce. — Dr. 

Samuel  Brown        .......  199 

[ix]  CHAP.  XV 

Departure  from  Lexinton. — Culture  of  the  vine  at  Kentucky. — 
Passage  over  the  Kentucky  and  Dick  Rivers. — Departure 
for  Nasheville. — Mulder  Hill. — Passage  over  Green  River      206 

CHAP.  XVI 

Passage  over  the  Barrens,  or  Meadows. — Plantations  upon  the 
road. — The  view  they  present. — Plants  discovered  there. — 
Arrival  at  Nasheville        .         .         .         .         .         .  215 

CHAP.  XVII 

General  observations  upon  Kentucky. — Nature  of  the  soil. — 
First  settlements  in  the  state. — Right  of  property  uncertain. 
— Population  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  222 

CHAP.  XVIII 

Distinction  of  Estates. — Species  of  Trees  peculiar  to  each  of  them. 

— Ginseng. — Animals  in  Kentucky    .         .         .         .  228 

CHAP.  XIX 

Different  kinds  of  culture  in  Kentucky. — Exportation  of  colonial 

produce. — Peach  trees. — Taxes         .         .         .         .  237 


114  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

[x]    CHAP.  XX 

Particulars  relative  to  the  manners  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ken- 
tucky.— Horses  and  cattle. — Necessity  of  giving  them  salt. 
— Wild  Horses  caught  in  the  Plains  of  New  Mexico. — Ex- 
portation of  salt  provisions        .....  243 

[CHAP.]  XXI 

Nasheville. — Commercial  details. — Settlement  of  the  Natches       250 

CHAP.  XXII 

Departure  for  Knoxville. — Arrival  at  Fort  Blount. — Remarks 
upon  the  drying  up  of  the  Rivers  in  the  Summer. — Planta- 
tions on  the  road. — Fertility  of  the  soil. — Excursions  in  a 
canoe  on  the  river  Cumberland  .         .         .         .  255 

CHAP.  XXIII 

Departure  from  Fort  Blount  to  West  Point,  through  the  Wilder- 
ness.— Botanical  excursions  upon  Roaring  River. — Descrip- 
tion of  its  Banks. — Saline  productions  found  there. — Indian 
Cherokees. — Arrival  at  Knoxville      .         .         .         .  258 

[xi]    CHAP.  XXIV 

Knoxville. — Commercial  intelligence. — Trees  that  grow  in  the 
environs. — Converting  some  parts  of  the  Meadows  into 
Forests.  —  River  Nolachuky.  —  Greensville.  —  Arrival  at 
Jonesborough  .         .         .         .         .         .         .  265 

CHAP.  XXV 

General  observations  on  the  state  of  Tennessea. — Rivers  Cum- 
berland and  Tennessea. — What  is  meant  by  East  Tennessea 
or  Holston,  and  West  Tennessea  or  Cumberland. — Fiist 
settlements  in  West  Tennessea. — Trees  natives  of  that 
country  ........  271 

CHAP.  XXVI 

Different  kinds  of  produce  of  West  Tennessea. — Domestic  manu- 
factories for  cottons  encouraged  by  the  Legislature  of  this 
State. — Mode  of  letting  out  Estates  by  some  of  the  Emi- 
grants ........  276 


1802]  F.  A.  Michauxs  Travels  1 1 5 

CHAP.  XXVII 

East  Tennessea,  or  Holston. — Agriculture. — Population. — Com- 
merce  .........  280 

[xii]   CHAP.  XXVIII 

Departure  from  Jonesborough  for  Morganton,  in  North  Caro- 
lina.— Journey  over  Iron  Mountains. — Sojourn  on  the 
mountains. — Journey  over  the  Blue  Ridges  and  Linneville 
Mountains. — Arrival  at  Morganton  ....  283 

CHAP.  XXIX 

General  observations  upon  this  part  of  the  Chain  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies. — Salamander  which  is  found  in  the  torrents. — 
Bear  hunting  . 286 

CHAP.  XXX 

Morganton. — Departure  for  Charleston. — Lincolnton. — Ches- 
ter.— Winesborough. — Columbia. — Aspect  of  the  Country 
on  the  Road. — Agriculture,  &c.  &c.  ....  290 

CHAP.  XXXI 

General  observations  on  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia. — Agricul- 
ture and  produce  peculiar  to  the  upper  part  of  these  states      296 

CHAP.  XXXII 

Low  part  of  the  Carolines  and  Georgia. — Agriculture. — Popula- 
tion.— Arrival  at  Charleston 301 


TRAVELS,  &C,  &C. 


CHAP.  I 

Departure  from  Bourdeaux. — Arrival  at  Charleston. — 
Remarks  upon  the  yellow  fever. — A  short  description  of 
the  town  of  Charleston. —  Observations  upon  several 
trees,  natives  of  the  old  continent,  reared  in  a  botanic  gar- 
den near  the  city. 

Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  being  the  first  place 
of  my  destination,  I  went  to  Bourdeaux  as  one  of  the 
ports  of  France  that  trades  most  with  the  southern  parts 
of  the  United  States,  and  where  there  are  most  commonly 
vessels  from  the  different  points  of  North  America.  I 
embarked  the  24th  of  [2]  September  1801,  on  board  the 
John  and  Francis,  commanded  by  the  same  captain  with 
whom  I  returned  to  Europe  several  years  ago.1  A  fortnight 
after  our  departure  we  were  overtaken  by  a  calm,  within 
sight  of  the  Acorian  Islands.  Saint  George's  and  Graci- 
osa  were  those  nearest  to  us,  where  we  clearly  distinguished 
a  few  houses,  which  appeared  built  with  stone  and  chalk; 
and  the  rapid  declivity  of  the  land  divided  by  hedges, 
which  most  likely  separated  the  property  of  different 
occupiers.  The  major  part  of  these  islands  abound  with 
stupendous  mountains,  in  various  directions,  and  beyond 
which  the  summit  of  Pico,  in  a  pyramidical  form  rises 
majestically  above  the  clouds,  which  were  then  illumined 

1  The  date  given  here  is  evidently  wrong;  the  translation  in  Phillips's  Voy- 
ages gives  it  as  August  25,  which  corresponds  with  the  arrival  of  Michaux  in 
Charleston. — Ed. 


1 1  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

by  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  A  gentle  breeze  springing 
up,  we  soon  lost  sight  of  that  charming  prospect,  and  on 
the  9th  of  October  following  entered  the  Charleston  roads, 
in  company  with  two  other  vessels  which  had  left  Bour- 
deaux,  the  one  eighteen  days,  and  the  other  a  month  before 
us. 

The  pleasure  that  we  felt  on  discovering  the  shore  was 
very  soon  abated.  The  pilot  informed  us  that  the  yellow 
fever  *had  made  dreadful  ravages  at  Charleston,  and  was 
still  carrying  off  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants.  This 
intelligence  alarmed  the  [3]  passengers,  who  were  four- 
teen in  number,  the  most  of  whom  had  either  friends  or 
relatives  in  the  town.  Every  one  was  fearful  of  learning 
some  disastrous  news  or  other.  The  anchor  was  no 
sooner  weighed  than  those  who  had  never  been  accus- 
tomed to  warm  countries  were  escorted  by  their  friends  to 
the  Isle  of  Sullivan.  This  island  is  situated  about  seven 
miles  from  Charleston.  Its  dry  and  parched-up  soil  is 
almost  bereft  of  vegetation;  but  as  it  is  exposed  to  the 
breeze  of  the  open  sea,  the  air  is  generally  cool  and  pleas- 
ant. Within  these  few  years,  since  that  bilious  and  in- 
flammatory disorder,  commonly  known  by  the  name  of 
the  yellow  fever,  shows  itself  regularly  every  summer  at 
Charleston,  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants  and  plant- 
ers, who  took  refuge  in  the  town  to  escape  the  intermittent 
fevers  which  attack  seven-tenths  of  those  resident  in  the 
country,  have  built  houses  in  that  island,  where  they  so- 
journ from  the  early  part  of  July  till  the  first  frost,  which 
usually  takes  place  about  the  15th  of  November.  A  few 
of  the  inhabitants  keep  boarding-houses,  where  they 
receive  those  who  have  no  settled  residence.  It  has 
been  remarked  that  foreigners,  newly  arrived  from 
Europe  or  the  states  of  North  America,  and  [4]  who  go 


1 802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  1  1 9 

immediately  to  reside  in  this  island,  are  exempt  from  the 
yellow  fever. 

However  powerful  these  considerations  were,  they  could 
not  induce  me  to  go  and  pass  my  time  in  such  a  dull  and 
melancholy  abode;  upon  which  I  refused  the  advice  of  my 
friends,  and  staid  in  the  town.  I  had  nearly  been  the 
victim  of  my  obstinacy,  having  been,  a  few  days  after, 
attacked  with  the  first  symptoms  of  this  dreadful  malady, 
under  which  I  laboured  upward  of  a  month. 

The  yellow  fever  varies  every  year  according  to  the 
intenseness  of  the  heat;  at  the  same  time  the  observation 
has  not  yet  been  forcible  enough  to  point  out  the  charac- 
teristic signs  by  which  they  can  discover  whether  it  will 
be  more  or  less  malignant  in  the  summer.  The  natives 
are  not  so  subject  to  it  as  foreigners,  eight-tenths  of  whom 
died  the  year  of  my  arrival ;  and  whenever  the  former  are 
attacked  with  it,  it  is  always  in  a  much  less  proportion. 

It  has  been  observed  that  during  the  months  of  July, 
August,  September,  and  October,  when  this  disorder  is 
usually  most  prevalent,  the  persons  who  leave  Charleston 
for  a  few  days  only,  are,  on  their  return  to  town,  much 
more  susceptible  of  catching  it  [5]  than  those  who  staid  at 
home.  The  natives  of  Upper  Carolina,  two  or  three 
hundred  miles  distant,  are  as  subject  to  it  as  foreigners; 
and  those  of  the  environs  are  not  always  exempt  from  it: 
whence  it  results  that  during  one  third  of  the  year  all 
communications  are  nearly  cut  off  between  the  country 
and  town,  whither  they  go  but  very  reluctantly,  and  seldom 
or  ever  sleep  there.  The  supply  of  provisions  at  that 
time  is  only  made  by  the  negroes,  who  are  never  subject 
to  the  fever.  On  my  return  to  Charleston  in  the  month 
of  October  1802,  from  my  travels  over  the  western  part  of 
the  country,  I  did  not  meet,  on  the  most  populous  road, 


i  20  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

for  the  space  of  three  hundred  miles,  a  single  traveller 
that  was  either  going  to  town  or  returning  from  it;  and 
in  the  houses  where  I  stopped  there  was  not  a  person  who 
conceived  his  business  of  that  importance  to  oblige  him 
to  go  there  while  the  season  lasted. 

From  the  1st  of  November  till  the  month  of  May  the 
country  affords  a  picture  widely  different;  every  thing 
resumes  new  life;  trade  is  re-animated;  the  suspended 
communications  re-commence;  the  roads  are  covered 
with  waggons,  bringing  from  all  quarters  the  produce  of 
the  exterior;  an  immense  number  of  carriages  and  single- 
horse  chaises  roll  rapidly  [6]  along,  and  keep  up  a  con- 
tinual correspondence  between  the  city  and  the  neigh- 
bouring plantations,  where  the  owners  spend  the  greatest 
part  of  the  season.  In  short,  the  commercial  activity 
renders  Charleston  just  as  lively  as  it  is  dull  and  melan- 
choly in  the  summer. 

It  is  generally  thought  at  Charleston  that  the  yellow 
fever  which  rages  there,  as  well  as  at  Savannah,  every 
summer,  is  analogous  to  that  which  breaks  out  in  the  colo- 
nies, and  that  it  is  not  contagious:  but  this  opinion  is  not 
universally  adopted  in  the  northern  cities.  It  is  a  fact,  that 
whenever  the  disease  is  prevalent  at  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, the  natives  are  as  apt  to  contract  it  as  foreigners, 
and  that  they  remove  as  soon  as  they  learn  that  their  neigh- 
bours are  attacked  with  it.  Notwithstanding  they  have  a 
very  valuable  advantage  that  is  not  to  be  found  at  Charles- 
ton, which  is,  that  the  country  places  bordering  on  Philadel- 
phia and  New  York  are  pleasant  and  salubrious;  and  that 
at  two  or  three  miles'  distance  the  inhabitants  are  in  per- 
fect safety,  though  even  the  disorder  committed  the  great- 
est ravages  in  the  above-mentioned  towns. 

I  took  the  liberty  to  make  this  slight  digression,  for  the 


1802]  F.  A.  Michanx's  Travels  i  2 1 

information  of  those  who  might  have  to  go  to  the  [7] 
southern  parts  of  the  United  States  that  it  is  dangerous 
to  arrive  there  in  the  months  of  July,  August,  September, 
and  October.  I  conceived,  like  many  others,  that  the 
using  of  every  means  necessary  to  prevent  the  efferves- 
cence of  the  blood  was  infallibly  a  preservative  against 
this  disorder;  but  every  year  it  is  proved  by  experience 
that  those  who  have  pursued  that  mode  of  living,  which 
is  certainly  the  best,  are  not  all  exempt  from  sharing  the 
fate  of  those  who  confine  themselves  to  any  particular 
kind  of  regimen. 

Charleston  is  situated  at  the  conflux  of  the  rivers  Ashley 
and  Cooper.  The  spot  of  ground  that  it  occupies  is 
about  a  mile  in  length.  From  the  middle  of  the  principal 
street  the  two  rivers  might  be  clearly  seen,  were  it  not  for 
a  public 'edifice  built  upon  the  banks  of  the  Cooper,  which 
intercepts  the  view.  The  most  populous  and  commercial 
part  of  the  town  is  situated  along  the  Ashley.  Several 
ill-constructed  quays  project  into  the  river,  to  facilitate 
the  trading  vessels  taking  in  their  cargoes.  These  quays 
are  formed  with  the  trunks  of  palm  trees  fixed  together, 
and  laid  out  in  squares  one  above  the  other.  Experience 
has  shown  that  the  trunks  of  these  trees,  although  of  a 
very  spungy  nature,  lie  buried  in  the  [8]  water  many 
years  without  decaying;  upon  which  account  they  are 
generally  preferred  for  these  purposes  to  any  other  kind 
of  wood  in  the  country.  The  streets  of  Charleston  are 
extremely  wide,  but  not  paved,  consequently  every  time 
your  foot  slips  from  a  kind  of  brick  pavement  before  the 
doors,  you  are  immerged  nearly  ancle-deep  in  sand.  The 
rapid  circulation  of  the  carriages,  which,  proportionately 
speaking,  are  far  more  considerable  here  in  number  than 
in  any  other  part  of  America,  continually  grinds  this  mov- 


122  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

ing  sand,  and  pulverizes  it  in  such  a  manner,  that  the 
most  gentle  wind  fills  the  shops  with  it,  and  renders  it 
very  disagreeable  to  foot  passengers.  At  regular  dis- 
tances pumps  supply  the  inhabitants  with  water  of  such  a 
brackish  taste,  that  it  is  truly  astonishing  how  foreigners 
can  grow  used  to  it.  Two-thirds  of  the  houses  are  built 
with  wood,  the  rest  with  brick.  According  to  the  last 
computation,  made  in  1803,  the  population,  comprising 
foreigners,  amounted  to  10,690  whites  and  9050  slaves. 

Strangers  that  arrive  at  Charleston,  or  at  any  town  in 
the  United  States,  find  no  furnished  hotels  nor  rooms  to 
let  for  their  accommodation,  no  coffee-houses  where  they 
can  regale  themselves.  The  whole  of  this  is  replaced  by 
boarding-houses,  where  every  thing  necessary  [9]  is 
provided.  In  Carolina  you  pay,  at  these  receptacles, 
from  twelve  to  twenty  piastres  per  week.  This  enormous 
sum  is  by  no  means  proportionate  to  the  price  of  provis- 
ions. For  example,  beef  very  seldom  exceeds  sixpence  a 
pound.  Vegetables  are  dearer  there  than  meat.  Inde- 
pendent of  the  articles  of  consumption  that  the  country 
supplies,  the  port  of  Charleston  is  generally  full  of  small 
vessels  from  Boston,  Newport,  New  York,  and  Phila- 
delphia, and  from  all  the  little  intermediate  ports,  which 
are  loaded  with  flour,  salt  provisions,  potatoes,  onions, 
carrots,  beet-roots,  apples,  oats,  Indian  corn,  and  hay. 
Planks  and  building  materials  comprize  another  considera- 
ble article  of  importation;  and  although  these  different 
kinds  of  produce  are  brought  from  three  to  four  hundred 
leagues,  they  are  not  so  dear  and  of  a  better  quality  than 
those  of  their  own  growth. 

In  winter  the  markets  of  Charleston  are  well  stocked 
with  live  sea-fish,  which  are  brought  from  the  northern 
part  of  the  United  States  in  vessels  so  constructed  as  to 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  123 

keep  them  in  a  continual  supply  of  water.  The  ships 
engaged  in  this  kind  of  traffic  load,  in  return,  with  rice 
and  cottons,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  re-exported  into 
Europe,  the  freight  [10]  being  always  higher  in  the  north- 
ern than  in  the  southern  states.  The  cotton  wool  that 
they  keep  in  the  north  for  their  own  consumption  is  more 
than  sufficient  to  supply  the  manufacturies,  being  but 
very  few :  the  overplus  is  disposed  of  in  the  country  places, 
where  the  women  fabricate  coarse  cottons  for  the  use  of 
their  families. 

Wood  is  extravagantly  dear  at  Charleston ;  it  costs  from 
forty  to  fifty  shillings2  a  cord,  notwithstanding  forests, 
which  are  almost  boundless  in  extent,  begin  at  six  miles, 
and  even  at  a  less  distance  from  the  town,  and  the  con- 
veyance of  it  is  facilitated  by  the  two  rivers  at  the  con- 
flux of  which  it  is  situated ;  on  which  account  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  burn  coals  that  are  brought  from 
England. 

As  soon  as  ^recovered  from  my  illness  I  left  Charleston, 
and  went  to  reside  in  a  small  plantation  about  ten  miles 
from  the  town,  where  my  father  had  formed  a  botanic 
garden.  It  was  there  he  collected  and  cultivated,  with 
the  greatest  care,  the  plants  that  he  found  in  the  long  and 
painful  travels  that  his  ardent  love  for  science  had  urged 
him  to  make,  almost  every  year,  in  the  different  quarters 
of  America.  Ever  animated  with  a  desire  of  serving  the 
country  he  was  in,  he  conceived  that  the  climate  of  South 
Carolina  [11]  must  be  favourable  to  the  culture  of  several 
useful  vegetables  of  the  old  continent,  and  made  a  memo- 
rial of  them,  which  he  read  to  the  Agricultural  Society 

2  The  piastre  was  the  Spanish  dollar,  then  the  common  circulating  coin  in 
the  United  States,  and  the  one  whose  value  was  adopted  in  our  dollar.  A 
South  Carolina  shilling  was  worth  T\  of  a  dollar. —  Ed. 


i  24  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

at  Charleston.  A  few  happy  essays  confirmed  him  in 
his  opinion,  but  his  return  to  Europe  did  not  permit 
him  to  continue  his  former  attempts.  On  my  arrival  at 
Carolina  I  found  in  this  garden  a  superb  collection  of 
trees  and  plants  that  had  survived  almost  a  total  neglect 
for  nearly  the  space  of  four  years.  I  likewise  found  there 
a  great  number  of  trees  belonging  to  the  old  continent, 
that  my  father  had  planted,  some  of  which  were  in  the 
most  flourishing  state.  I  principally  remarked  two 
ginkgo  bilobas,  that  had  not  been  planted  above  seven 
years,  and  which  were  then  upward  of  thirty  feet  in 
height;  several  sterculia  platanifolia,  which  had  yielded 
seed  upward  of  six  years;  in  short,  more  than  a  hundred 
and  fifty  mimosa  illibrissin,  the  first  plant  of  which  came 
from  Europe  about  ten  inches  in  diameter.  I  set  several 
before  my  return  to  France,  this  tree  being  at  that  time 
very  much  esteemed  for  its  magnificent  flowers.  The 
Agricultural  Society  at  Carolina  are  now  in  possession  of 
this  garden :  they  intend  keeping  it  in  order,  and  cultivating 
the  useful  vegetables  belonging  to  the  old  continent, 
which,  [12]  from  the  analogy  of  the  climate,  promise  every 
success.3  I  employed  the  remainder  of  the  autumn  in 
making  collections  of  seed,  which  I  sent  to  Europe;  and 
the  winter,  in  visiting  the  different  parts  of  Low  Carolina, 
and  in  reconnoitring  the  places  where,  the  year  follow- 
ing, I  might  make  more  abundant  harvests,  and  procure 
the  various  sorts  that  I  had  not  been  able  to  collect  during 
the  autumn. 

On  this  account  I  must  observe,  that  in  North  America, 
and  perhaps  more  so  than  in  Europe,  there  are  plants 


3  The  services  of  the  elder  Michaux  in  introducing  European  plants  into 
America,  were  considerable.  He  is  said  also  to  have  been  the  first  to  teach  the 
frontier  settlers  the  value  of  ginseng. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michauxs  Travels  i  25 

that  only  inhabit  certain  places;  whence  it  happens  that  a 
botanist,  in  despite  of  all  his  zeal  and  activity,  does  not 
meet  with  them  for  years;  whilst  another,  led  by  a  happy 
chance,  finds  them  in  his  first  excursion.  I  shall  add,  in 
favour  of  those  who  wish  to  travel  over  the  southern  part 
of  the  United  States  for  botanical  researches,  that  the 
epoch  of  the  flower  season  begins  in  the  early  part  of 
February;  the  time  for  gathering  the  seeds  of  herbaceous 
plants  in  the  month  of  August;  and  on  the  1st  of  October 
for  that  of  forest  trees. 

[13]  CHAP.  II 

Departure  from  Charleston  for  New  York. — A  short 
description  of  the  town. —  Botanic  excursions  in  New 
Jersey. —  Remark  upon  the  Quercus  tinctoria  or  Black 
Oak,  and  the  nut  trees  of  that  country. —  Departure  from 
New  York  for  Philadelphia. —  Abode. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1802  I  left  Charleston  to  go  to 
New  York,  where  I  arrived  after  a  passage  of  ten  days. 
Trade  is  so  brisk  between  the  northern  and  southern 
states,  that  there  is  generally  an  opportunity  at  Charles- 
ton to  get  into  any  of  the  ports  of  the  northern  states  you 
wish.  Several  vessels  have  rooms,  tastefully  arranged 
and  commodiously  fitted  up,  for  the  reception  of  passen- 
gers, who  every  year  go  in  crowds  to  reside  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  United  States,  during  the  unhealthy  season, 
and  return  to  Charleston  in  the  month  of  November  fol- 
lowing. You  pay  for  the  passage  from  forty  to  fifty  [14] 
piastres.  Its  duration  varies  according  to  the  weather. 
It  is  generally  about  ten  days,  but  it  is  sometimes  pro- 
longed by  violent  gusts  of  wind  which  casually  spring  up 
on  doubling  Cape  Hatras. 

New  York,  situated  at  the  conflux  of  the  rivers  from 


126  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  east  and  north,  is  much  nearer  to  the  sea  than  Phila- 
delphia. Its  harbour  being  safe,  and  of  an  easy  access  in 
all  seasons,  makes  it  very  advantageous  to  the  city,  and 
adds  incessantly  to  its  extent,  riches,  and  population. 
The  town  consists  of  more  than  50,000  souls,  among  whom 
are  reckoned  but  a  very  small  number  of  negroes.  Living 
is  not  so  dear  there  as  at  Charleston;  one  may  board  for 
eight  or  ten  piastres  a  week. 

During  my  stay  at  New  York  I  frequently  had  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  Dr.  Hosack,  who  was  held  in  the 
highest  reputation  as  a  professor  of  botany.  He  was  at 
that  time  employed  in  establishing  a  botanical  garden, 
where  he  intended  giving  a  regular  course  of  lectures. 
This  garden  is  a  few  miles  from  the  town:  the  spot  of 
ground  is  well  adapted,  especially  for  plants  that  require 
a  peculiar  aspect  or  situation.  Mr.  Hosack  is  the  physi- 
cian belonging  to  the  hospital  and  prison,  by  virtue  of 
which  he  permitted  me  to  accompany  him  in  one  of  his 
visits,  and  I  had  by  that  [15]  means  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  those  two  establishments.  The  hospital  is  well 
situated,  the  buildings  are  extensive,  the  rooms  lofty  and 
well  aired;  but  the  beds  appeared  to  me  very  indifferent; 
they  are  composed  of  a  very  low  bedstead,  edged  with 
board  about  four  inches  wide,  and  furnished  with  a  mat- 
tress, or  rather  a  pallias,  filled  with  oat  straw,  not  very 
thick,  coarse  brown  linen  sheets,  and  a  rug.  The  prison 
is  remarkable  for  the  decorum,  the  arrangement,  the 
cleanliness  that  reigns  there,  and  more  especially  for  the 
willingness  with  which  the  prisoners  seem  to  work  at  the 
different  employments  allotted  for  them. 

Each  seemed  to  be  tasked  according  to  his  abilities  or 
profession;  some  were  making  shoes,  and  others  manu- 
facturing cut-nails.     These  nails,  made  by  the  help  of  a 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  i  27 

machine,  have  no  point,  and  cannot  be  used  for  the  same 
purposes  as  others  wrought  in  the  usual  way;  notwith- 
standing, a  great  many  people  prefer  them  for  nailing 
on  roofs  of  houses.  They  pretend  that  these  nails  have 
not  the  inconvenience  of  starting  out  by  reason  of  the 
weather,  as  it  frequently  happens  with  others ;  as  upon  the 
roofs  of  old  houses  a  great  number  of  nails  may  be  seen 
[16]  which  do  not  appear  to  have  been  driven  in  more 
than  half  or  one-third  of  their  length. 

During  my  stay  at  New  York,  I  took  a  botanical 
excursion  into  New  Jersey,  by  the  river  side,  towards  the 
north.  This  part  of  New  Jersey  is  very  uneven;  the  soil 
is  hard  and  flinty,  to  judge  of  it  by  the  grass  which  I  saw 
in  places  pulled  up.  Large  rocks,  of  a  chalky  nature,  as 
if  decayed,  appeared  even  with  the  ground  upon  almost 
all  the  hills.  Notwithstanding,  we  observed  different 
species  of  trees;  among  others,  a  variety  of  the  red  oak, 
the  acorn  of  which  is  nearly  round ;  the  white  oak,  quercus 
alba;  and,  among  the  different  species  or  varieties  of  nut 
trees,  the  juglans  tomentosa,  or  mocker-nut,  and  the  jug- 
lans  minima,  or  pig-nut.  In  the  low  and  marshy  places, 
where  it  is  overflowed  almost  all  the  year,  we  found  the 
juglans-hickery,  or  shell-barked  hickery;  the  quercus 
prinus  aquatica,  which  belongs  to  the  series  of  prunus, 
and  is  not  mentioned  in  the  " History  of  Oaks.'H  The 
valleys  are  planted  with  ash  trees,  palms,  cornus  florida's 
poplars,  and  quercus  tinctorial,  known  in  the  country  by 
the  name  of  the  black  oak. 

The  quercus  tinctoria  is  very  common  in  all  the  [17] 
northern  states;  it  is  likewise  found  to  the  west  of  the 
Alleghany  mountains,  but  is  not  so  abundant  in  the  low 

*  The  History  of  Oaks  discovered  in  America  by  A.  Michaux. —  F.  A.  Mi- 

CHAUX. 


i  28  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

part  of  Georgia  and  the  two  Carolinas.  The  leaves  of 
the  lower  branches  assume  a  different  form  from  those 
of  the  higher  branches;  the  latter  are  more  sharp  and 
pointed.  The  plate  given  in  the  History  of  Oaks  only 
represents  the  leaves  of  the  lower  branches,  and  the  shape 
of  them  when  quite  young.  Amid  these  numerous  species 
and  varieties  of  oaks,  the  leaves  of  which  vary,  as  to  form, 
according  to  their  age,  which  generally  confounds  them 
with  each  other;  notwithstanding,  there  are  certain  charac- 
teristic signs  by  which  the  quercus  tinctoria  may  be  always 
known.  In  all  the  other  species  the  stalk,  fibres,  and 
leaves  themselves  are  of  a  lightish  green,  and  towards  the 
autumn  their  colour  grows  darker,  and  changes  to  a  red- 
dish hue;  on  the  contrary,  the  stalk,  fibres  and  leaves  of 
the  black  oak  are  of  a  yellowish  cast,  and  apparently  very 
dry;  again,  the  yellow  grows  deeper  towards  the  approach 
of  winter.  This  remark  is  sufficient  not  to  mistake 
them;  notwithstanding,  there  is  another  still  more  posi- 
tive, by  which  this  species  may  be  recognised  in  winter, 
when  even  it  has  lost  its  leaves;  that  is,  by  the  bitter  taste 
of  its  bark,  and  the  yellow  colour  [18]  which  the  spittle 
assumes  when  chewed.  The  bark  of  the  quercus  cinerea 
has  nearly  the  same  property;  and,  finding  this,  I  made 
an  observation  of  it  to  Dr.  Bancroft,  who  was  at  Charles- 
ton in  the  winter  of  1802.  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  be  mistaken  concerning  these  two  kinds  of  oaks; 
for  the  latter  grows  only  in  the  dryest  parts  of  the  south- 
ern states.  It  is  very  rarely  more  than  four  inches  in 
diameter,  and  eighteen  feet  in  height;  its  leaves  are  lan- 
ceolated:  on  the  other  hand,  the  quercus  tinctoria  grows 
upwards  of  eighty  feet  in  height,  and  its  leaves  are  in 
several  lobes,  and  very  long. 
Among  the  species  of  acorns  that  I  sent  over  from  the 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  129 

northern  states  of  America  to  France,  and  those  which  I 
brought  with  me  in  the  spring  of  1803,  were  some  of  the 
black  oak,  which  have  come  up  very  abundantly  in  the 
nursery  at  Trianon.  Mr.  Cels  has  upwards  of  a  hundred 
young  plants  of  them  in  his  garden. 

The  species  and  variety  of  nut  trees  natural  to  the 
United  States  are  also  extremely  numerous,  and  might  be 
the  subject  of  a  useful  and  interesting  monography;  but 
that  work  would  never  be  precisely  accurate  provided  the 
different  qualities  of  those  trees  are  not  studied  in  the 
country  itself.  I  have  [19]  seen  some  of  those  nut  trees 
which,  by  the  leaves  and  blossom,  appeared  of  the  same 
species,  when  the  shells  and  nuts  seemed  to  class  them 
differently.  I  have,  on  the  contrary,  seen  others  where 
the  leaves  and  blossoms  were  absolutely  different,  and  the 
fruit  perfectly  analogous.  It  is  true  there  are  some,  where 
the  fruit  and  blossom  are  systematically  regular  at  the 
same  time,  but  very  few.  This  numerous  species  of  nut 
trees  is  not  confined  to  the  United  States;  it  is  remarked 
in  every  part  of  North  America  from  the  northern  extrem- 
ity of  the  United  States  as  far  as  Mississipi;  that  is  to 
say,  an  extent  of  more  than  eight  hundred  leagues  from 
north  to  south,  and  five  hundred  from  east  to  west.  I 
brought  over  with  me  some  new  nuts  of  six  different 
species,  which  have  come  up  exceedingly  well,  and  which 
appear  not  to  have  been  yet  described. 

I  left  New  York  the  8th  of  June  1802,  to  go  to  Phila- 
delphia ;  the  distance  is  about  a  hundred  miles.  The  stages 
make  this  journey  some  in  a  day,  others  in  a  day  and  a 
half;  the  fare  is  five  piastres  each  person.  At  the  taverns 
where  the  stages  stop  they  pay  one  piaster  for  dinner,  half 
one  for  supper  or  breakfast,  and  the  same  for  a  bed. 
The  space  of  ground  that  separates  the  two  cities  is  com- 


130  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

pletely  [20]  cleared,  and  the  farms  are  contiguous  to  each 
other.  About  nine  miles  from  New  York  is  a  place  called 
Newark,  a  pretty  little  town  situated  in  New  Jersey. 
The  fields  that  encompass  it  are  planted  with  apple  trees; 
the  cyder  that  is  made  there  is  accounted  the  best  in  the 
United  States;  however,  I  conceived  it  by  far  inferior  to 
that  of  Saint  Lo,  Coutance,  or  Bayeux.  Among  the  other 
small  towns  by  the  road  side,  Trenton  seemed  worthy  of 
attention.  Its  situation  upon  the  Delaware,  the  beauti- 
ful tract  of  country  that  surrounds  it,  must  render  it  a 
most  delightful  place  of  abode. 

Philadelphia  is  situated  upon  the  Delaware,  a  hundred 
miles  distant  from  the  sea;  at  this  period  the  most  exten- 
sive, the  handsomest,  and  most  populous  city  of  the  United 
States.  In  my  opinion,  there  is  not  one  upon  the  old  con- 
tinent built  upon  so  regular  a  plan.  The  streets  cut  each 
other  at  right  angles,  and  are  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in 
breadth,  except  the  middle  one,  which  is  twice  as  broad. 
The  market  is  built  in  this  street,  and  is  remarkable  for  its 
extent  and  extreme  cleanliness;  it  is  in  the  centre  of  the 
town,  and  occupies  nearly  one-third  of  its  length.  The 
streets  are  paved  commodiously  before  the  houses  with 
brick;  pumps  erected  on  both  sides,  about  [21]  fifty 
yards  distant  from  each  other,  afford  an  abundant  supply 
of  water;  upon  the  top  of  each  is  a  brilliant  lamp.  Several 
streets  are  planted  with  Italian  poplars  of  a  most  beauti- 
ful growth,  which  makes  the  houses  appear  elegantly 
rural. 

The  population  of  Philadelphia  is  always  on  the  in- 
crease; in  1749,  there  were  eleven  thousand  inhabitants; 
in  1785,  forty  thousand;  and  now  the  number  is  com- 
puted to  be  about  seventy  thousand.  The  few  Negroes 
that  are  there  are  free,  the  greatest  part  of  whom  go  out 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  i  3 1 

to  service.  Provisions  are  not  quite  so  dear  at  Philadel- 
phia as  New  York;  on  which  account  the  boarding  houses 
do  not  charge  more  than  from  six  to  ten  piastres  per  week. 
You  never  meet  any  poor  at  Philadelphia,  not  a  creature 
wearing  the  aspect  of  misery  in  his  face;  that  distressing 
spectacle,  so  common  in  European  cities,  is  unknown  in 
America;  love,  industry,  the  want  of  sufficient  hands,  the 
scarcity  of  workmanship,  an  active  commerce,  property, 
are  the  direct  causes  that  contend  against  the  introduc- 
tion of  beggary,  whether  in  town  or  country. 

During  my  stay  at  Philadelphia,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  Rev.  Dr.  Collin,  minister  of  the  Swedish 
church,  and  president  of  the  Philosophical  [22]  Society; 
Mr.  John  Vaughan,  the  secretary;  Messrs.  Piles,  John  and 
William  Bartram.5  These  different  gentlemen  had  for- 
merly been  particularly  acquainted  with  my  father,  and  I 
received  from  them  every  mark  of  attention  and  respect. 
Mr.  Piles  has  a  beautiful  cabinet  of  natural  history.  The 
legislature  of  Pensylvania  have  presented  him  with  a 
place  to  arrange  it  in;  that  is  the  only  encouragement  he 
has  received.  He  is  continually  employed  in  enriching  it 
by  increasing  the  number  of  his  correspondents  in  Europe, 
as  well  as  in  the  remote  parts  of  the  United  States;  still, 
except  a  bison,  I  saw  nothing  in  his  collection  but  what 
may  be  found  in  the  Museum  at  Paris. 


6  Dr.  Nicholas  Collin  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society,  elected  in  1789,  dying  in  183 1.  It  is  a  curious  mistake  of 
Michaux's  to  call  him  president,  at  a  time  when  Jefferson  held  this  position. 
Dr.  Collin  was  often  acting  chairman,  and  had  been  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee for  raising  funds  for  the  elder  Michaux's  proposed  Western  exploration 
(1792). 

Dr.  John  Vaughan  was  treasurer  and  librarian  of  the  Society  for  many 
years. 

The  Bartrams  were  famous  botanists  of  Philadelphia,  whom  the  elder 
Michaux  frequently  visited.     See  ante,  p.  97,  note  177. —  Ed. 


132  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  absence  of  Mr.  W.  Hamilton  deprived  me  of  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  him;  notwithstanding,  I  went  into  his 
magnificent  garden,  situated  upon  the  borders  of  the 
Schuylkill,  about  four  miles  from  Philadelphia.  His 
collection  of  exotics  is  immense,  and  remarkable  for 
plants  from  New  Holland;  all  the  trees  and  shrubs  of  the 
United  States,  at  least  those  that  could  stand  the  winter 
at  Philadelphia,  after  being  once  removed  from  then- 
native  soil;  in  short,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  find 
a  more  agreeable  situation  than  the  residence  of  Mr.  W. 
Hamilton.6 

[23]  CHAP.  Ill 
Departure  from  Philadelphia  to  the  Western  Country. — 
Communications  by  land  in  the  United  States. —  Arrival 
at  Lancaster. —  Description  oj  the  town  and  its  environs. 
—  Departure. —  Columbia. —  Passage  jrom  Susquehan- 
nah,  York,  Dover,  Carlisle. —  Arrival  at  Shippens- 
burgh. —  Remarks  upon  the  state  oj  agriculture  during 
the  journey. 

The  states  of  Kentucky,  Tennessea,  and  Ohio  com- 
prise that  vast  extent  of  country  known  in  America  by  the 
name  of  the  Western  Country.  Almost  all  the  Europeans 
who  have  published  observations  upon  the  United  States, 
have  been  pleased  to  say,  according  to  common  report, 
that  this  part  of  the  country  is  very  fertile;  but  they  have 
never  entered  into  the  least  particulars.  It  is  true  that, 
to  reach  these  new  settlements,  one  is  obliged  to  travel 
over  a  considerable  tract  of  uninhabited  country,  and 
that  [24]  these  journies  are  tedious,  painful,  and  afford 
nothing  very  interesting  to  travellers  who  wish  to  describe 

8  The  gardens  of  William  Hamilton  were  at  this  time  the  most  famous  in 
the  United  States.  They  now  form  part  of  Woodlawn  cemetery,  West  Phila- 
delphia, where  some  rare  trees  planted  by  him  still  exist. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  i  3  3 

the  manners  of  the  people  who  reside  in  the  town  or  most 
populous  parts;  but  as  natural  history,  and  more  espe- 
cially vegetable  productions,  with  the  state  of  agriculture, 
were  the  chief  object  of  my  researches;  my  business  was 
to  avoid  the  parts  most  known,  in  order  to  visit  those 
which  had  been  less  explored;  consequently,  I  resolved 
to  undertake  the  journey  to  that  remote  and  almost  isolated 
part  of  the  country.  I  had  nearly  two  thousand  miles 
to  travel  over  before  my  return  to  Charleston,  where  I 
was  to  be  absolutely  about  the  beginning  of  October. 
My  journey  had  likewise  every  appearance  of  being 
retarded  by  a  thousand  common-place  obstacles,  which 
is  either  impossible  to  foresee,  or  by  any  means  prevent. 
These  considerations,  however,  did  not  stop  me;  accord- 
ingly I  fixed  my  departure  from  Philadelphia  on  the  27th 
of  June  1802:  I  had  not  the  least  motive  to  proceed  on 
slowly,  in  order  to  collect  observations  already  confirmed 
by  travellers  who  had  written  before  me  on  that  subject ; 
this  very  reason  induced  me  to  take  the  most  expeditious 
means  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  Pittsburgh,  situated 
at  the  extremity  of  Ohio;  in  consequence  of  which  I  took 
[25]  the  stage7  at  Philadelphia,  that  goes  to  Shippens- 
burgh  by  Lancaster,  York,  and  Carlisle.  Shippensburgh, 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  Philadelphia,  is 
the  farthest  place  that  the  stages  go  to  upon  that  road.8 

7  Till  the  year  1802,  the  stages  that  set  out  at  Philadelphia  did  not  go  farther 
South  than  to  Petersburg  in  Virginia,  which  is  about  three  hundred  miles  from 
Philadelphia;  but  in  the  month  of  March  of  that  year,  a  new  line  of  correspond- 
ence was  formed  between  the  latter  city  and  Charleston.  The  journey  is  about 
a  fortnight,  the  distance  fifteen  hundred  miles,  and  the  fare  fifty  piastres.  There 
are  stages  also  between  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston,  as  well  as  between 
Charleston  and  Savannah,  in  Georgia,  so  that  from  Boston  to  Savannah,  a 
distance  of  twelve  hundred  miles,  persons  may  travel  by  the  stages. —  F.  A. 
Michaux. 

8  For  historical  sketch  of  Shippensburg,  see  Post's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  p.  238,  note  76. —  Ed. 


I  34  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

It  is  reckoned  sixty  miles  from  Philadelphia  to  Lan- 
caster, where  I  arrived  the  same  day  in  the  afternoon. 
The  road  is  kept  in  good  repair  by  the  means  of  turn- 
pikes, fixed  at  a  regular  distance  from  each  other.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  the  way  the  houses  are  almost  close  together; 
every  proprietor  to  his  enclosure.  Throughout  the  United 
States  all  the  land  that  is  cultivated  is  fenced  in,  to  keep 
it  from  the  cattle  and  quadrupeds  of  every  kind  that  the 
inhabitants  leave  the  major  part  of  the  year  in  the  woods, 
which  in  that  respect  are  free.  Near  towns  or  villages 
these  [26]  enclosures  are  made  with  posts,  fixed  in  the 
ground  about  twelve  feet  from  each  other,  containing  five 
mortises,  at  the  distance  of  eight  or  nine  inches,  in  which 
are  fitted  long  spars  about  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter, 
similar  to  the  poles  used  by  builders  for  making  scaffolds. 
The  reason  of  their  enclosing  thus  is  principally  through 
economy,  as  it  takes  up  but  very  little  wood,  which  is 
extremely  dear  in  the  environs  of  the  Northern  cities;  but 
in  the  interior  of  the  country,  and  in  the  Southern  states, 
the  enclosures  are  made  with  pieces  of  wood  of  equal 
length,  placed  one  above  the  other,  disposed  in  a  zig-zag 
form,  and  supported  by  their  extremities,  which  cross  and 
interlace  each  other;  the  enclosures  appear  to  be  about 
seven  feet  in  height.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  Carolines 
they  are  made  of  fir;  in  the  other  parts  of  the  country, 
and  throughout  the  North,  they  are  comprised  of  oak 
and  walnut-tree ;  they  are  said  to  last  about  five  and  twenty 
years  when  kept  in  good  repair. 

The  tract  of  country  we  have  to  cross,  before  we  get 
to  Lancaster,  is  exceedingly  fertile  and  productive;  the 
fields  are  covered  with  wheat,  rye,  and  oats,  which  is  a 
proof  that  the  soil  is  better  than  that  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia.     The  inns  are  very  [27]  numerous  on 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  135 

the  road;  in  almost  all  of  them  they  speak  German.  My 
fellow  travellers  being  continually  thirsty,  made  the  stage 
stop  at  every  inn  to  drink  a  glass  or  two  of  grog.  This 
beverage,  which  is  generally  used  in  the  United  States,  is  a 
mixture  of  brandy  and  water,  or  rum  and  water,  the  pro- 
portion of  which  depends  upon  the  person's  taste. 

Lancaster  is  situated  in  a  fertile  and  well-cultivated 
plain.  The  town  is  built  upon  a  regular  plan;  the  houses, 
elevated  two  stories,  are  all  of  brick;  the  two  principal 
streets  are  paved  as  at  Philadelphia.  The  population 
is  from  four  to  five  thousand  inhabitants,  almost  all  of 
German  origin,  and  various  sects;  each  to  his  particular 
church;  that  of  the  Roman  Catholics  is  the  least  numerous. 
The  inhabitants  are  for  the  most  part  armourers,  hat- 
ters, saddlers,  and  coopers;  the  armourers  of  Lancaster 
have  been  long  esteemed  for  the  manufacturing  of  rifle- 
barrelled  guns,  the  only  arms  that  are  used  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  interior  part  of  the  country,  and  the  Indian 
nations  that  border  on  the  frontiers  of  the  United  States. 

At  Lancaster  I  formed  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Mul- 
henberg,  a  Lutheran  minister,  who,  for  twenty  years  past, 
had  applied  himself  to  botany.  He  shewed  [28]  me  the 
manuscript  concerning  a  Flora  Lancastriensis .  The 
number  of  the  species  described  were  upwards  of  twelve 
hundred.  Mr.  Mulhenberg  is  very  communicative,  and 
more  than  once  he  expressed  to  me  the  pleasure  it  would 
give  him  to  be  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  French 
botanists;  he  corresponds  regularly  with  Messrs.  Wilde- 
now  and  Smith.9    I  met  at  Lancaster  Mr.  W.  Hamilton, 

9  Gotthilf  Heinrich  Ernest  Muhlenberg  was  a  brother  of  General  Muhien- 
burg  of  Revolutionary  fame,  and  grandson  of  Conrad  Weiser.  He  was  bom  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1753,  educated  at  Halle,  Germany,  and  on  his  return  to  Ameri- 
ca in  1774  was  ordained  as  a  Lutheran  clergyman.  He  served  charges  in  New 
Jersey  and  Philadelphia  until  1779,  when  he  settled  at  Lancaster,  where  he 


136  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

whose  magnificent  garden  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
near  Philadelphia.  This  amateur  was  very  intimate 
with  my  father;  and  I  can  never  forget  the  marks  of 
benevolence  that  I  received  from  him  and  Mr.  Mulhen- 
berg,  as  well  as  the  concern  they  both  expressed  for  the 
success  of  the  long  journey  I  had  undertaken. 

On  the  27th  of  June  I  set  out  from  Lancaster  for  Ship- 
pensburgh.  There  were  only  four  of  us  in  the  stage,  which 
was  fitted  up  to  hold  twelve  passengers.  Columbia, 
situated  upon  the  Susquehannah,  is  the  first  town  that  we 
arrived  at;  it  is  composed  of  about  fifty  houses,  scattered 
here  and  there,  and  almost  all  built  with  wood;  at  this 
place  ends  the  turnpike  road. 

It  is  not  useless  to  observe  here,  that  in  the  United  States 
they  give  often  the  name  of  town  to  a  group  of  seven 
or  eight  houses,  and  that  the  mode  of  constructing  them 
is  not  the  same  everywhere.  At  [29]  Philadelphia  the 
houses  are  built "  with  brick.  In  the  other  towns  and 
country  places  that  surround  them,  the  half,  and  even 
frequently  the  whole,  is  built  with  wood;  but  at  places 
within  seventy  or  eighty  miles  of  the  sea,  in  the  central 
and  southern  states,  and  again  more  particularly  in  those 
situated  to  the  Westward  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
one  third  of  the  inhabitants  reside  in  log  houses.  These 
dwellings  are  made  with  the  trunks  of  trees,  from  twenty 
to  thirty  feet  in  length,  about  five  inches  diameter,  placed 
one  upon  another,  and  kept  up  by  notches  cut  at  their 
extremities.  The  roof  is  formed  with  pieces  of  similar 
length  to  those  that  compose  the  body  of  the  house,  but 
not  quite  so  thick,  and  gradually  sloped  on  each  side. 

remained  until  his  death  in  1807.  He  was  much  interested  in  botany,  and 
devoted  all  his  leisure  to  that  pursuit,  being  a  member  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  and,  as  Michaux  notes,  in  correspondence  with  many  scien- 
tists.—  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  137 

Two  doors,  which  often  supply  the  place  of  windows,  are 
made  by  sawing  away  a  part  of  the  trunks  that  form  the 
body  of  the  house;  the  chimney,  always  placed  at  one  of 
the  extremities,  is  likewise  made  with  the  trunks  of  trees 
of  a  suitable  length;  the  back  of  the  chimney  is  made  of 
clay,  about  six  inches  thick,  which  separates  the  fire  from 
the  wooden  walls.  Notwithstanding  this  want  of  pre- 
caution, fires  very  seldom  happen  in  the  country  places. 
The  space  between  these  trunks  of  trees  is  filled  up  with 
clay,  but  so  very  carelessly,  that  the  [30]  light  may  be 
seen  through  in  every  part;  in  consequence  of  which 
these  huts  are  exceedingly  cold  in  winter,  notwithstanding 
the  amazing  quantity  of  wood  that  is  burnt.  The  doors 
move  upon  wooden  hinges,  and  the  greater  part  of  them 
have  no  locks.  In  the  night  time  they  only  push  them 
to,  or  fasten  them  with  a  wooden  peg.  Four  or  five  days 
are  sufficient  for  two  men  to  finish  one  of  these  houses, 
in  which  not  a  nail  is  used.  Two  great  beds  receive  the 
whole  family.  It  frequently  happens  that  in  summer  the 
children  sleep  upon  the  ground,  in  a  kind  of  rug.  The 
floor  is  raised  from  one  to  two  feet  above  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  boarded.  They  generally  make  use  of 
feather  beds,  or  feathers  alone,  and  not  mattresses. 
Sheep  being  very  scarce,  the  wool  is  very  dear;  at  the 
same  time  they  reserve  it  to  make  stockings.  The  clothes 
belonging  to  the  family  are  hung  up  round  the  room,  or 
suspended  upon  a  long  pole. 

At  Columbia  the  Susquehannah  is  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  in  breadth.  We  crossed  it  in  a  ferry-boat.  At  that 
time  it  had  so  little  water  in  it,  that  we  could  easily  see 
the  bottom.  The  banks  of  this  river  were  formed  by 
lofty  and  majestic  hills,  and  the  bosom  of  it  is  strewed 
with  little  islands,  which  [31]  seem  to  divide  it  into  several 


i  3  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

streams.  Some  of  them  do  not  extend  above  five  or  six 
acres  at  most,  and  still  they  are  as  lofty  as  the  surrounding 
hills.  Their  irregularity,  and  the  singular  forms  that 
they  present,  render  this  situation  picturesque  and  truly 
remarkable,  more  especially  at  that  season  of  the  year, 
when  the  trees  were  in  full  vegetation. 

About  a  mile  from  Susquehannah  I  observed  an 
annona  triloba,  the  fruit  of  which  is  tolerably  good, 
although  insipid.  When  arrived  at  maturity  it  is  nearly 
the  size  of  a  common  egg.  According  to  the  testimony 
of  Mr.  Mulhenberg  this  shrub  grows  in  the  environs  of 
Philadelphia. 

About  twelve  miles  from  Columbia  is  a  little  town  called 
York,  the  houses  of  which  are  not  so  straggling  as  many 
others,  and  are  principally  built  with  brick.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  computed  to  be  upward  of  eighteen  hundred, 
most  of  them  of  German  origin,  and  none  speak  English. 
About  six  miles  from  York  we  passed  through  Dover,  com- 
posed of  twenty  or  thirty  log-houses,  erected  here  and 
there.  The  stage  stopped  at  the  house  of  one  M'Logan, 
who  keeps  a  miserable  inn  fifteen  miles  from  York.10 
That  day  we  travelled  only  thirty  or  forty  miles. 

Inns  are  very  numerous  in  the  United  States,  and  [32] 
especially  in  the  little  towns;  yet  almost  everywhere, 
except  in  the  principal  towns,  they  are  very  bad,  notwith- 
standing rum,  brandy,  and  whiskey11  are  in  plenty.     In 

10  The  town  of  Columbia  was  situated  at  what  was  known  as  Wright's 
Ferry,  one  of  the  oldest  crossing  places  on  the  Susquehanna. 

Michaux's  father  was  at  York,  July  18,  1789,  and  describes  it  as  "a  pretty 
enough  little  town  situated  at  59  miles  from  Fredericksburg  (Md.).  The 
country  appears  to  me  to  be  but  little  cultivated  in  the  environs.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  Germans  as  well  as  in  Pennsylvania.  They  are  generally  very  labori- 
ous and  very  industrious.' '  On  his  later  journey  he  does  not  describe  this  place, 
see  ante,  p.  50. —  Ed. 

11  They  give  the  name  of  whiskey,  in  the  United  States,  to  a  sort  of  brandy 
made  with  rye. —  F.  A.  Michaux. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  139 

fact,  in  houses  of  the  above  description  all  kinds  of  spirits 
are  considered  the  most  material,  as  they  generally  meet 
with  great  consumption.  Travellers  wait  in  common  till 
the  family  go  to  meals.  At  breakfast  they  make  use  of 
very  indifferent  tea,  and  coffee  still  worse,  with  small 
slices  of  ham  fried  in  the  stove,  to  which  they  sometimes 
add  eggs  and  a  broiled  chicken.  At  dinner  they  give 
a  piece  of  salt  beef  and  roasted  fowls,  and  rum  and  water 
as  a  beverage.  In  the  evening,  coffee,  tea,  and  ham. 
There  are  always  several  beds  in  the  rooms  where  you 
sleep;  seldom  do  you  meet  with  clean  sheets.  Fortu- 
nate is  the  traveller  who  arrives  on  the  day  they  happen 
to  be  changed;  although  an  American  would  be  quite 
indifferent  about  it. 

Early  on  the  28th  of  June  we  reached  Carlisle,  situated 
about  fifty-four  miles  from  Lancaster.  The  town  con- 
sists of  about  two  hundred  houses,  a  few  of  them  built 
with  brick,  but  by  far  the  greatest  part  [33]  with  wood. 
Upon  the  whole  it  has  a  respectable  appearance,  from  a 
considerable  number  of  large  shops  and  warehouses. 
These  receptacles  are  supplied  from  the  interior  parts  of 
the  country  with  large  quantities  of  jewellery,  mercery, 
spices,  &c.  The  persons  who  keep  those  shops  purchase 
and  also  barter  with  the  country  people  for  the  produce 
of  their  farms,  which  they  afterwards  send  off  to  the  sea- 
port towns  for  exportation. 

From  M'Logan's  inn  to  Carlisle  the  country  is  barren 
and  mountainous,  in  consequence  of  which  the  houses  are 
not  so  numerous  on  the  road,  being  at  a  distance  of  two 
or  three  miles  from  each  other;  and  out  of  the  main  road 
they  are  still  more  straggling.  The  white,  red,  and  black 
oaks,  the  chesnut,  and  maple  trees  are  those  most  com- 
mon in  the  forests.     Upon  the  summit  of  the  hills  we  ob- 


140  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

served  the  quercus  banisteri.  From  Carlisle  to  Shippens- 
burgh  the  country  continues  mountainous,  and  is  not 
much  inhabited,  being  also  barren  and  uncultivated. 

We  found  but  very  few  huts  upon  the  road,  and  those, 
from  their  miserable  picture,  clearly  announced  that  their 
inhabitants  were  in  but  a  wretched  state;  as  from  every 
appearance  of  their  approaching  [34]  harvest  it  could  only 
afford  them  a  scanty  subsistence. 

The  coach  stopped  at  an  inn  called  the  General  Wash- 
ington, at  Shippensburgh,  kept  by  one  Colonel  Ripey, 
whose  character  is  that  of  being  very  obliging  to  all 
travellers  that  may  happen  to  stop  at  his  house  on  their 
tour  to  the  western  countries.  Shippensburgh  has 
scarcely  seventy  houses  in  it.  The  chief  of  its  trade  is 
dealing  in  corn  and  flour.  When  I  left  this  place,  a  bar- 
rel of  flour,  weighing  ninety-six  pounds,  was  worth  five 
piastres. 

From  Shippensburgh  to  Pittsburgh  the  distance  is 
about  an  hundred  and  seventy  miles.12  The  stages  going 
no  farther,  a  person  must  either  travel  the  remainder  of 
the  road  on  foot,  or  purchase  horses.  There  are  always 
some  to  be  disposed  of;  but  the  natives,  taking  advantage 
of  travellers  thus  situated,  make  them  pay  more  than  dou- 
ble their  value;  and  when  you  arrive  at  Pittsburgh,  on 
your  return,  you  can  only  sell  them  for  one  half  of  what 
they  cost.  I  could  have  wished,  for  the  sake  of  economy, 
to  travel  the  rest  of  the  way  on  foot,  but  from  the  obser- 

12  Michaux  travelled  to  Pittsburg  by  way  of  the  Pennsylvania  state  road 
which  was  laid  out  and  built  1785-87,  following  in  the  main  the  road  cut  for 
Forbes's  army  in  1758.  This  was  the  most  important  thoroughfare  to  the  West, 
until  the  Cumberland  national  road  was  built;  and  even  afterwards  a  large 
share  of  the  traffic  went  this  way.  For  a  description  of  travel  about  this  period 
see  McMaster,  History  of  People  of  United  States  (New  York,  1895),  vol.  iv, 
chap.  33;  and  Albert,  History  of  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania  (Phila- 
delphia, 1882),  chap.  35. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  141 

vations  I  had  heard  I  was  induced  to  buy  a  horse,  in  con- 
junction with  an  American  officer  with  whom  I  came 
in  the  stage,  and  who  was  also  going  to  Pittsburgh. 
We  agreed  to  ride  alternately. 

[35]  CHAP.  IV 
Departure  from  Ship  pen sburgh  to  Strasburgh  —  Journey 
over  the  Blue  Ridges  —  New  species  of  Rhododendrum 
—  Passage  over  the  river  Juniata  —  Use  0}  the  Cones 
of  the  Magnolia  Acuminata  —  Arrival  at  Bedford 
Court  House  —  Excesses  to  which  the  Natives  of  that 
part  of  the  Country  are  addicted  —  Departure  from 
Bedford  —  Journey  over  Alleghany  Ridge  and  Laurel 
Hill  —  Arrival  at  West  Liberty  Town. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  June  we  left  Shippens- 
burgh,  and  arrived  at  twelve  o'clock  at  Strasburgh,  being 
a  distance  of  ten  miles.  This  town  consists  of  about 
forty  log-houses,  and  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  first 
chain  of  Blue  Ridges.  The  tract  of  country  you  have 
to  cross  before  you  get  there,  although  uneven,  is  much 
better ;  and  you  have  a  view  of  several  plantations  tolerably 
well  [36]  cultivated.  After  having  taken  a  moment's 
repose  at  Strasburgh,  we  pursued  our  journey  notwith- 
standing the  heat,  which  was  excessive,  and  ascended  the 
first  ridge  by  an  extremely  steep  and  rocky  path.  We 
reached  the  summit  after  three  quarters  of  an  hour's 
difficult  walking,  and  crossed  two  other  ridges  of  nearly 
the  same  height,  and  which  follow  the  same  direction. 
These  three  ridges  form  two  little  valleys,  the  first  of 
which  presents  several  small  huts  built  on  the  declivity; 
in  the  second,  which  is  rather  more  extensive,  is  situated 
a  town  called  Fenetsburgh,  composed  of  about  thirty 
houses,  which  stand  on  both  sides  of  the  road ;  the  plan- 


1 4  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

tations  that  surround  them  are  about  twenty  in  number, 
each  of  which  is  composed  of  from  two  to  three 
hundred  acres  of  woody  land,  of  which,  from  the 
scarcity  of  hands,  there  are  seldom  more  than  a  few 
acres  cleared.  In  this  part  of  Pensylvania  every  individ- 
ual is  content  with  cultivating  a  sufficiency  for  himself 
and  family;  and  according  as  that  is  more  or  less  numer- 
ous the  parts  so  cleared  are  more  or  less  extensive ;  whence 
it  follows,  that  the  larger  family  a  man  has  capable  of 
assisting  him,  the  greater  independence  he  enjoys;  this 
is  one  of  the  principal  [37]  causes  of  the  rapid  progress 
that  population  makes  in  the  United  States. 

This  day  we  travelled  only  six-and-twenty  miles,  and 
slept  at  Fort  Littleton,  about  six  miles  from  Strasburg, 
at  the  house  of  one  Colonel  Bird,  who  keeps  a  good  inn. 
From  Shippensburgh  the  mountains  are  very  flinty,  and 
the  soil  extremely  bad ;  the  trees  of  an  indifferent  growth, 
and  particularly  the  white  oak  that  grows  upon  the  sum- 
mit, and  the  calmia  lati folia  on  the  other  parts. 

The  next  day  we  set  out  very  early  in  the  morning  to 
go  to  Bedford  Court  House.  From  Fort  Littleton  to  the 
river  Juniata  we  found  very  few  plantations;  nothing  but 
a  succession  of  ridges,  the  spaces  between  which  were  filled 
up  with  a  number  of  little  hills.  Being  on  the  summit  of 
one  of  these  lofty  ridges,  the  inequality  of  this  group  of 
mountains,  crowned  with  innumerable  woods,  and  over- 
shadowing the  earth,  it  afforded  nearly  the  same  picture 
that  the  troubled  sea  presents  after  a  dreadful  storm. 

Two  miles  before  you  come  to  the  river  Juniata,  the 
road  is  divided  into  two  branches,  which  meet  again  at 
the  river  side.  The  right  leads  across  the  mountains, 
and  the  left,  which  we  took,  appeared  to  [38]  have  been, 
and  may  be  still  the  bed  of  a  deep  torrent,  the  ground 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  143 

being  wet  and  marshy.  The  banks  were  covered  with 
the  andromeda,  vaccinium,  and  more  particularly  with  a 
species  of  rhododendrum,  that  bears  a  flower  of  the  clear- 
est white ;  the  fibres  of  the  stamina  are  also  white,  and  the 
leaves  more  obtuse,  and  not  so  large  as  the  rhododendrum 
maximum.  This  singular  variation  must  of  course  admit 
its  being  classed  under  a  particular  species.  I  discovered 
this  beautiful  shrub  a  second  time  on  the  mountains  of 
North  Carolina.  Its  seeds  were  at  that  time  ripe,  and  I 
carried  some  of  them  over  with  me  to  France,  which  came 
up  exceedingly  well.  The  river  Juniata  was  not,  in  that 
part,  above  thirty  or  forty  fathoms  broad,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  the  tide  being  very  low,  we  forded  it;  still,  the 
greatest  part  of  the  year  people  cross  it  in  a  ferry-boat. 
Its  banks  are  lofty  and  very  airy.  The  magnolia  acumi- 
nata is  very  common  in  the  environs;  it  is  known  in  the 
country  by  the  name  of  the  cucumber  tree.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  the  remote  parts  of  Pensylvania,  Virginia,  and 
even  the  western  countries,  pick  the  cones  when  green  to 
infuse  in  whiskey,  which  gives  it  a  pleasant  bitter.  This 
bitter  is  very  much  esteemed  in  the  country  as  a  preven- 
tive against  intermittent  [39]  fevers;  but  I  have  my  doubts 
whether  it  would  be  so  generally  used  if  it  had  the  same 
qualities  when  mixed  with  water. 

From  the  crossing  of  the  river  Juniata  to  Bedford  Court 
House,  the  country,  although  mountainous,  is  still  better, 
and  more  inhabited,  than  that  we  travelled  over  from 
Shippensburgh.  The  plantations,  although  seldom  in 
sight  of  each  other,  are  near  enough  to  give  a  more  ani- 
mated appearance  to  the  country.  We  arrived  at  Bed- 
ford in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  and  took  lodgings  at  an 
inn,  the  landlord  of  which  was  an  acquaintance  of  the 
American  officer  with  whom  I  was  travelling.     His  house 


144  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

was  commodious,  and  elevated  one  story  above  the  ground 
floor,  which  is  very  rare  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The 
day  of  our  arrival  was  a  day  of  rejoicing  for  the  country 
people,  who  had  assembled  together  in  this  little  town 
to  celebrate  the  suppression  of  the  tax  laid  upon  the 
whiskey  distilleries;  rather  an  arbitrary  tax,  that  had  dis- 
affected the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  against  the  late 
president,  Mr.  Adams.13  The  public  houses,  inns,  and 
more  especially  the  one  where  we  lodged,  were  filled  with 
the  lower  class  of  people,  who  made  the  most  dreadful 
riot,  and  committed  such  horrible  excesses,  that  [40] 
is  almost  impossible  to  form  the  least  idea  of.  The 
rooms,  stairs,  and  yard  were  strewed  with  drunken  men; 
and  those  who  had  still  the  power  of  speech  uttered 
nothing  but  the  accents  of  rage  and  fury.  A  passion  for 
spirituous  liquors  is  one  of  the  features  that  characterise 
the  country  people  belonging  to  the  interior  of  the  United 
States.  This  passion  is  so  strong,  that  they  desert  their 
homes  every  now  and  then  to  get  drunk  in  public  houses; 
in  fact,  I  do  not  conceive  there  are  ten  out  of  a  hundred 
who  have  resolution  enough  to  desist  from  it  a  moment 
provided  they  had  it  by  them,  notwithstanding  their 
usual  beverage  in  summer  is  nothing  but  water,  or  sour 
milk.  They  care  very  little  for  cyder,  which  they  find 
too  weak.  Their  dislike  to  this  wholesome  and  pleasant 
beverage  is  the  more  distressing  as  they  might  easily 
procure  it  at  a  very  trifling  expense,  for  apple  trees  of 
every  kind  grow  to  wonderful  perfection  in  this  country. 
This  is  a  remark  which  I  have  made  towards  the  east 
as  well  as  the  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  where  I 

13  Michaux  refers  here  to  the  excise  tax  that  led  to  the  "Whiskey  Rebellion" 
in  this  part  of  Pennsylvania.  Its  repeal  was  one  of  the  first  financial  measures 
of  Jefferson's  administration,  and  had  occurred  at  the  session  of  Congress  in 
the  spring  of  1802. —  Ed. 


1802]  i7.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  145 

have  known  lofty  trees  spring  up  from  kernels,  which 
bore  apples  from  eight  to  nine  inches  in  circumference. 

At  Bedford  there  are  scarce  a  hundred  and  twenty 
houses  in  the  whole,  and  those  but  of  a  miserable  [41] 
appearance,  most  of  them  being  built  of  wood.  This 
little  town,  like  all  the  rest  on  that  road,  trades  in  all 
kinds  of  corn,  flour,  &c.  which,  with  salt  provisions,  are 
the  only  articles  they  sell  for  exportation.  During  the 
war,  in  the  time  of  the  French  revolution,  the  inhabitants 
found  it  more  to  their  advantage  to  send  their  corn,  &c. 
to  Pittsburgh,  there  to  be  sent  by  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
to  New  Orleans,  or  embark  them  for  the  Carribbees, 
than  to  send  them  to  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore;  notwith- 
standing it  is  not  computed  to  be  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  from  Bedford  to  Philadelphia,  and  a  hundred  and 
fifty  from  Bedford  to  Baltimore,  whilst  the  distance  from 
Bedford  to  New  Orleans  is  about  two  thousand  two 
hundred  miles;  viz.  a  hundred  miles  by  land  to  Pittsburgh, 
and  two  thousand  one  hundred  miles  by  water  from 
Pittsburgh  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  evident, 
according  to  this  calculation,  that  the  navigation  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  is  very  easy,  and  by  far  less  expen- 
sive, since  it  compensates  for  the  enormous  difference 
that  exists  between  those  two  distances.  The  situation 
of  New  Orleans,  with  respect  to  the  Carribbees,  by  this 
rule,  gives  this  town  the  most  signal  advantage  over  all 
the  ports  eastward  of  the  United  States;  and  in  propor- 
tion as  [42  ]  the  new  western  states  increase  in  population, 
New  Orleans  will  become  the  centre  of  an  immense  com- 
merce. Other  facts  will  still  rise  up  to  the  support  of  this 
observation. 

On  the  following  day  (the  1st  of  July)  we  left  Bedford 
very  early  in  the  morning.     The  heat  was  excessive;  the 


146  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

ridges  that  we  had  perpetually  to  climb,  and  the  little 
mountains  that  rise  between  these  ridges,  rendered  the 
journey  extremely  difficult;  we  travelled  no  more  than 
six-and-twenty  miles  this  day.  About  four  miles  from 
Bedford  the  road  divides  into  two  different  directions;  we 
took  the  left,  and  stopped  to  breakfast  with  a  miller  who 
keeps  a  public  house.  We  found  a  man  there  lying  upon 
the  ground,  wrapt  up  in  a  blanket,  who  on  the  preceding 
evening  had  been  bitten  by  a  rattle-snake.  The  first 
symptoms  that  appeared,  about  an  hour  after  the  acci- 
dent, were  violent  vomitings,  which  was  succeeded  by  a 
raging  fever.  When  I  saw  him  first  his  leg  and  thigh 
were  very  much  swelled,  his  respiration  very  laborious, 
and  his  countenance  turgescent,  and  similar  to  that  of  a 
person  attacked  with  the  hydrophobia  whom  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  at  Charite.  I  put  several  questions 
to  him;  but  he  was  so  absorbed  that  it  was  impossible  to 
obtain  [43]  the  least  answer  from  him.  I  learnt  from  some 
persons  in  the  house  that  immediately  after  the  bite,  the 
juice  of  certain  plants  had  been  applied  to  the  wound, 
waiting  the  doctor's  arrival,  who  lived  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  off.  Those  who  do  not  die  with  it  are  always  very 
sickly,  and  sensible  to  the  changes  of  the  atmosphere. 
The  plants  made  use  of  against  the  bite  are  very  numer- 
ous, and  almost  all  succulent.  There  are  a  great  many 
rattle-snakes  in  these  mountainous  parts  of  Pensylvania; 
we  found  a  great  number  of  them  killed  upon  the  road. 
In  the  warm  and  dry  season  of  the  year  they  come  out 
from  beneath  the  rocks,  and  inhabit  those  places  where 
there  is  water. 

On  that  same  day  we  crossed  the  ridge  which  takes 
more  particularly  the  name  of  Alleghany  Ridges.  The 
road  we  took  was  extremely  rugged,  and  covered  with 


1802]  F.  A.  Mi c /mux's  Travels  147 

enormous  stones.  We  attained  the  summit  after  two 
hours  painful  journey.  It  is  truly  astonishing  how 
the  vehicles  of  conveyance  pass  over  so  easily,  and  with 
so  few  accidents  this  multitude  of  steep  hills  or  ridges, 
that  uninterruptedly  follow  in  succession  from  Shippens- 
burgh  to  Pittsburgh,  and  where  the  spaces  between  each 
are  filled  up  with  an  infinity  of  small  mountains  of  a  less 
elevation. 

[44]  Alleghany  Ridge  is  the  most  elevated  link  in  Pen- 
sylvania;  on  its  summit  are  two  log-houses,  very  indiffer- 
ently constructed,  about  three  miles  distant  from  each 
other,  which  serve  as  public  houses.  These  were  the  only 
habitations  we  met  with  on  the  road  from  Bedford;  the 
remaining  part  of  the  country  is  uninhabited.  We  stopped 
at  the  second,  kept  by  one  Chatlers,  tolerably  well  sup- 
plied with  provisions  for  the  country,  as  they  served  us 
up  for  dinner  slices  of  ham  and  venison  fried  on  the  hearth, 
with  a  kind  of  muffins  made  of  flour,  which  they  baked 
before  the  fire  upon  a  little  board. 

Notwithstanding  a  very  heavy  fall  of  rain,  we  went  to 
sleep  that  day  at  Stanley  Town,  a  small  place,  which, 
like  all  those  in  that  part  of  Pensylvania,  is  built  upon  a 
hill.  It  is  composed  of  about  fifty  houses,  the  half  of 
which  are  log-houses;  among  the  rest  are  a  few  inns,  and 
two  or  three  shops,  supplied  from  Philadelphia;  the  dis- 
tance is  about  seven  miles  from  Chatler's;  the  country 
that  separates  them  is  very  fertile,  and  abounds  with 
trees  of  the  highest  elevation;  those  most  prevalent  in 
the  woods  are  the  white,  red,  and  black  oaks,  the  beech, 
tulip,  and  magnolia  acuminata. 

The  horse  we  bought  at  Shippensburgh,  and  which  [45] 
we  rode  alternately,  was  very  much  fatigued,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  we  travelled  but  very  little  farther  than 


148  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

if  we  had  been  on  foot;  in  the  mean  time  the  American 
officer,  my  companion,  was  in  haste  to  arrive  at  Pitts- 
burgh, to  be  present  at  the  fete  of  the  4th  of  July  in  com- 
memoration of  the  American  independence.  In  order 
to  gain  a  day,  he  hired  a  horse  at  Stanley  Town,  with 
which  we  crossed  Laurel  Hill,  a  distance  of  four  miles. 
The  direction  of  this  ridge  is  parallel  with  those  we  had 
left  behind  us;  the  woods  which  cover  it  are  more  tufted, 
and  the  vegetation  appears  more  lively.  The  name 
given  to  this  mountain  I  have  no  doubt  proceeds  from 
the  great  quantity  of  calmia  latifolia,  from  eight  to  ten 
feet  high,  which  grows  exclusively  in  all  the  vacant 
places,  and  that  of  the  rhododendrum  maximum,  which 
enamel  the  borders  of  the  torrents;  for  the  inhabitants 
call  the  rhododendrum  laurel  as  frequently  as  the  calmia 
latifolia.  Some  describe  the  latter  shrub  by  the  name  of 
the  colico-tree,  the  leaves  of  which,  they  say,  are  a  very 
subtle  poison  to  sheep,  who  die  almost  instantaneously 
after  eating  them.  At  the  foot  of  Laurel  Hill  begins  the 
valley  of  Ligonier,  in  which  is  situated,  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  mountain,  West  Liberty  Town,  composed 
[46]  of  eighteen  or  twenty  log-houses.  The  soil  of  this 
valley  appears  extremely  fertile.  It  is  very  near  this  place 
that  the  French,  formerly  masters  of  Canada,  built  Fort 
Ligonier,  as  every  part  of  the  United  States  west  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  depended  on  Canada  or  Louisiana.14 

14  Michaux  is  in  error  in  saying  that  the  French  built  Fort  Ligonier.  He 
was  probably  misled  by  the  name.  It  was  named  for  Sir  John  Ligonier,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  land-forces  of  Great  Britain  (1751),  and  erected  on 
Loyalhanna  Creek,  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania,  during  the  advance 
of  Forbes's  army  (1758).  Fort  Ligonier  was  thrice  attacked,  once  after  Grant's 
defeat  (October  12,  1758),  and  in  the  following  June  by  a  party  of  French  and 
Indians.  During  Pontiac's  War,  it  endured  a  long  siege,  being  relieved  in 
August,  1763.  This  outpost  served  to  protect  the  frontier  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, after  which  it  was  no  longer  garrisoned.  General  St.  Clair  made  his  later 
home  at  this  place,  dying  here  in  1818. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  149 

[47]  CHAP.  V 

Departure  from  West  Liberty  Town  to  go  among  the 
Mountains  in  search  of  a  Shrub  supposed  to  give  good 
Oil,  a  new  Species  of  Azalea. —  Ligonier  Valley. — 
Coal  Mines. —  Greensburgh. —  Arrival  at  Pittsburgh. 

On  my  journey  to  Lancaster  Mr.  W.  Hamilton  had 
informed  me  that  at  a  short  distance  from  West  Liberty 
Town,  and  near  the  plantation  of  Mr.  Patrick  Archibald, 
there  grew  a  shrub,  the  fruit  of  which  he  had  been  told 
produced  excellent  oil.  Several  persons  at  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  had  heard  the  same,  and  entertained  a 
hope  that,  cultivated  largely,  it  might  turn  to  general 
advantage.  In  fact,  it  would  have  been  a  treasure  to 
find  a  shrub  which,  to  the  valuable  qualities  of  the  olive- 
tree,  united  that  of  enduring  the  cold  of  the  most  northern 
countries.  Induced  by  these  motives,  I  left  my  [48] 
travelling  companion  to  go  amongst  the  mountains  in 
quest  of  the  shrub.  About  two  miles  from  West  Liberty 
Town  I  passed  by  Probes's  Furnace,  a  foundry  estab- 
lished by  a  Frenchman  from  Alsace,  who  manufactures 
all  kinds  of  vessels  in  brass  and  copper;  the  largest  con- 
tain about  two  hundred  pints,  which  are  sent  into  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessea,  where  they  use  them  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  salt  by  evaporation;  the  smaller  ones  are  des- 
tined for  domestic  uses.  They  directed  me  at  the  foundry 
which  road  I  was  to  take,  notwithstanding  I  frequently 
missed  my  way  on  account  of  the  roads  being  more  or 
less  cut,  which  lead  to  different  plantations  scattered 
about  the  woods;  still  I  met  with  the  greatest  civility 
from  the  inhabitants,  who  very  obligingly  put  me  in  my 
road,  and  on  the  same  evening  I  reached  Patrick  Archi- 
bald's, where  I  was  kindly  received  after  having  imparted 
the  subject  of  my  visit.     One  would  think  that  this  man, 


150  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

who  has  a  mill  and  other  valuables  of  his  own,  might  live 
in  the  greatest  comfort;  yet  he  resides  in  a  miserable 
log-house  about  twenty  feet  long,  subject  to  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather.  Four  large  beds,  two  of  which 
are  very  low,  are  placed  underneath  the  others  in  the 
day-time"  and  drawn  out  of  an  evening  [49]  into  the 
middle  of  the  room,  receive  the  whole  family,  composed 
of  ten  persons,  and  at  times  strangers,  who  casually  en- 
treat to  have  a  bed.  This  mode  of  living,  which  would 
announce  poverty  in  Europe,  is  by  no  means  the  sign  of 
it  with  them;  for  in  an  extent  of  two  thousand  miles  and 
upward  that  I  have  travelled,  there  is  not  a  single  family 
but  has  milk,  butter,  salted  or  dried  meat,  and  Indian 
corn  generally  in  the  house;  the  poorest  man  has  always 
one  or  more  horses,  and  an  inhabitant  very  rarely  goes  on 
foot  to  see  his  neighbour. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  I  went  into  the  woods,  and  in 
my  first  excursion  I  found  the  shrub  which  was  at  that 
moment  the  object  of  my  researches.  I  knew  it  to  be  the 
same  that  my  father  had  discovered  fifteen  years  before 
in  the  mountains  of  South  Carolina,  and  which,  in  despite 
of  all  the  attention  he  bestowed,  he  could  not  bring  to  any 
perfection  in  his  garden.15  Mr.  W.  Hamilton,  who  had 
received  a  few  seeds  and  plants  of  it  from  that  part  of 
Pensylvania  where  I  then  was,  had  not  been  more  suc- 
cessful. The  seeds  grow  so  soon  rancid,  that  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days  they  lose  their  germinative  faculty, 
and  contract  an  uncommon  sharpness.  This  shrub, 
which  seldom  rises  above  five  feet  in  [50]  height  is  diocal. 
It  grows  exclusively  on  the  mountains,  and  is  only  found 
in  cool  and  shady  places,  and  where  the  soil  is  very  fertile. 

16  Professor  R.  A.  Harper,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  thinks  this  plant 
may  have  been  some  variety  of 'sumac  (rhus). —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  i  5  1 

Its  roots,  of  a  citron  colour,  do  not  divide,  but  extend 
horizontally  to  a  great  distance,  and  give  birth  to  several 
shoots,  which  very  seldom  grow  more  than  eighteen 
inches  high.  The  roots  and  the  bark  rubbed  together, 
produce  an  unpleasant  smell.  I  commissioned  my  land- 
lord to  gather  half  a  bushel  of  seed,  and  send  it  to  Mr. 
William  Hamilton,  giving  him  the  necessary  precaution 
to  keep  it  fresh. —  On  the  banks  of  the  creek  where  Mr. 
Archibald's  mill  is  erected,  and  along  the  rivulets  in  the 
environs,  grows  a  species  of  the  azalea,  which  was  then 
in  full  blossom.  It  rises  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet.  Its 
flowers,  of  a  beautiful  white,  and  larger  than  those  of  the 
other  known  species,  exhale  the  most  delicious  perfume. 
The  azalea  coccinea,  on  the  contrary,  grows  on  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountains,  is  of  a  nasturtium  colour,  and  blows 
two  months  before. 

Ligonier  Valley  is  reckoned  very  fertile.  Wheat,  rye, 
and  oats  are  among  its  chief  productions.  Some  of  the 
inhabitants  plant  Indian  corn  upon  the  summit  of  the 
mountains,  but  it  does  not  succeed  well,  the  country 
being  too  cold.  The  sun  is  not  [51]  seen  there  for  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  after  it  has  risen.  They  also  culti- 
vate hemp  and  flax,  and  each  gathers  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  it  to  supply  his  domestic  wants;  and  as  all  the  women 
know  how  to  spin  and  weave,  they  supply  themselves  and 
family,  by  this  means,  with  linen.  The  price  of  land  is 
from  one  to  two  piastres  an  acre.  The  taxes  are  very 
moderate,  and  no  complaints  are  ever  made  against 
them.  In  this  part  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  all 
mountainous  countries,  the  air  is  very  wholesome.  I 
have  seen  men  there  upward  of  seventy-five  years  of  age, 
which  is  very  rare  in  the  Atlantic  states  situated  south  of 
Pennsylvania.     During  my  travels  in  this  country  the 


I  5  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

measles  were  very  prevalent.  At  the  invitation  of  my 
host  I  went  to  see  several  of  his  relatives  and  friends  that 
were  attacked  with  it.  I  found  them  all  drinking  whiskey, 
to  excite  perspiration.  I  advised  them  a  decoction  of  the 
leaves  of  the  viscous  elm,  with  the  addition  of  a  spoonful 
of  vinegar  to  a  pint,  and  an  ounce  of  sugar  of  maple.  In 
consequence  of  the  country  being  poor,  and  the  popula- 
tion not  very  numerous,  there  are  but  few  medical  men 
there;  and  in  cases  of  necessity  they  have  to  go  twenty 
or  thirty  miles  to  fetch  them. 

[52]  On  the  4th  of  July  I  left  Archibald's,  and  posted 
on  toward  Greensburgh,  which  is  about  eleven  miles 
from  it.  I  had  not  gone  far  before  I  had  to  cross  Ches- 
nut  Ridge,  a  very  steep  hill,  the  summit  of  which,  for  an 
extent  of  two  miles,  presents  nothing  but  a  dry  and  chalky 
soil,  abounding  with  oaks  and  chesnut  trees,  stunted  in 
their  growth:  but  as  I  advanced  toward  Greensburgh 
the  aspect  of  the  country  changes,  the  soil  becomes  better. 
The  plantations,  although  surrounded  with  woods,  are 
not  so  far  apart  as  in  the  valley  of  Ligonier.  The  houses 
are  much  larger,  and  most  of  them  have  two  rooms. 
The  land  better  cultivated,  the  enclosures  better  formed, 
prove  clearly  it  is  a  German  settlement.  With  them  every 
thing  announces  ease,  the  fruit  of  their  assiduity  to  labour. 
They  assist  each  other  in  their  harvests,  live  happy  among 
themselves,  always  speak  German,  and  preserve,  as 
much  as  possible,  the  customs  of  their  ancestors,  formerly 
from  Europe.  They  live  much  better  than  the  American 
descendants  of  the  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish.  They  are 
not  so  much  addicted  to  spirituous  liquors,  and  have 
not  that  wandering  mind  which  often,  for  the  slightest 
motive,  prompts  them  to  emigrate  several  [53]  hundred 
miles,  in  hopes  of  finding  a  more  fertile  soil. 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  153 

Prior  to  my  arrival  at  Greensburgh18  I  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  remarking  several  parts  of  the  woods  exclusively 
composed  of  white  oaks,  or  quercus  alba,  the  foliage  of 
which  being  a  lightish  green,  formed  a  beautiful  contrast 
with  other  trees  of  a  deeper  colour.  About  a  mile  from 
the  town,  and  on  the  borders  of  a  tremendous  cavity  I 
perceived  unequivocal  signs  of  a  coal  mine.  I  learnt  at 
Greensburgh  and  Pittsburgh  that  this  substance  was  so 
common  and  so  easy  to  procure,  that  many  of  the  inhabi- 
tants burnt  it  from  economical  motives.  Not  that  there 
is  a  scarcity  of  wood,  the  whole  country  being  covered 
with  it,  but  labour  is  very  dear;  so  that  there  is  not  a  pro- 
prietor who  would  not  consent  to  sell  a  cord  of  wood  for 
half  the  sum  that  coals  would  cost,  provided  a  person 
would  go  a  mile  to  fell  the  trees,  and  take  them  home. 

Greensburgh  contains  about  a  hundred  houses.  The 
town  is  built  upon  the  summit  of  a  hill  on  the  road  from 
Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh.  The  soil  of  the  environs  is 
fertile;  the  inhabitants,  who  are  of  German  origin,  culti- 
vate wheat,  rye,  and  oats  with  great  success.  The  flour 
is  exported  at  Pittsburgh. 

[54]  I  lodged  at  the  Seven  Stars  with  one  Erbach,  who 
keeps  a  good  inn.17  I  there  fell  into  company  with  a 
traveller  who  came  from  the  state  of  Vermont,  and 
through  necessity  we  were  obliged  to  sleep  in  one  room. 
Without  entering  into  any  explanation  relative  to  the  in- 

16  Greensburg  was  the  successor  to  Hannastown,  a  place  at  the  crossing  of 
Forbes's  road,  and  the  Indian  trail  to  Kiskiminitas  Creek.  The  latter  was 
made  the  county  seat  at  the  erection  of  Westmoreland  in  1773;  but  in  1782  was 
totally  destroyed  by  an  Indian  raid.  In  1786,  Greensburg  was  laid  out,  about 
three  miles  southwest,  as  the  seat  of  Westmoreland  County;  and  here  the  first 
court  was  held  in  January,  1787. —  Ed. 

17  Horbach's  inn  was  the  stopping  place  for  the  mail,  its  proprietor  being  a 
contractor.  It  was  situated  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  East  Pittsburg  streets, 
Greensburg. —  Ed. 


I  5  4  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

tention  of  our  journey,  we  communicated  to  each  other 
our  remarks  upon  the  country  that  we  had  just  travelled 
over.  He  had  been  upward  of  six  hundred  miles  since 
his  departure  from  his  place  of  residence,  and  I  had  been 
four  hundred  since  I  left  New  York.  He  proposed  ac- 
companying me  to  Pittsburgh.  I  observed  to  him  that  I 
was  on  foot,  and  gave  him  my  reasons  for  it,  as  it  is  very 
uncommon  in  America  to  travel  in  that  manner,  the  poorest 
inhabitant  possessing  always  one,  and  even  several  horses. 

From  Greensburgh  to  Pittsburgh  it  is  computed  to  be 
about  thirty-two  miles.  The  road  that  leads  to  it  is  very 
mountainous.  To  avoid  the  heat,  and  to  accelerate  my 
journey,  I  set  out  at  four  in  the  morning.  I  had  no  trou- 
ble in  getting  out  of  the  house,  the  door  being  only  on  the 
latch.  At  the  inns  in  small  towns,  on  the  contrary,  they 
are  extremely  careful  in  locking  the  stables,  as  horse- 
stealers are  by  no  means  uncommon  in  certain  parts  of  the 
[55]  United  States;  and  this  is  one  of  the  accidents  to 
which  travellers  are  the  most  exposed,  more  especially  in 
the  southern  states  and  in  the  western  countries,  where 
they  are  sometimes  obliged  to  sleep  in  the  woods.  It 
also  frequently  happens  that  they  steal  them  from  the 
inhabitants;  at  the  same  time  nothing  is  more  easy,  as 
the  horses  are,  in  one  part  of  the  year,  turned  out  in  the 
forests,  and  in  the  spring  they  frequently  stray  many 
miles  from  home;  but  on  the  slightest  probability  of  the 
road  the  thief  has  taken,  the  plundered  inhabitant  vigor- 
ously pursues  him,  and  frequently  succeeds  in  taking  him ; 
upon  which  he  confines  him  in  the  county  prison,  or, 
which  is  not  uncommon,  kills  him  on  the  spot.  In  the 
different  states  the  laws  against  horse-stealing  are  very 
severe,  and  this  severity  appears  influenced  by  the  great 
facility  the  country  presents  for  committing  the  crime. 

I  had  travelled  about  fifteen  miles  when  I  was  over- 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  155 

taken  by  an  American  gentleman  whom  I  had  met  the 
preceding  evening  at  Greensburgh.  Although  he  was 
on  horseback,  he  had  the  politeness  to  slacken  his  pace, 
and  I  accompanied  him  to  Pittsburgh.  This  second 
interview  made  us  more  intimately  acquainted.  He  in- 
formed me  that  his  intention  [56]  was  to  go  by  the  side  of 
the  Ohio.  Having  the  same  design,  I  entertained  a 
wish  to  travel  with  him,  and  more  so,  as  he  was  not  an 
amateur  of  whiskey;  being  compelled,  by  the  heat  of  the 
weather,  frequently  to  halt  at  the  inns,  which  are  tolerably 
numerous,  I  had  observed  that  he  drank  very  little  of  that 
liquor  in  water,  and  that  he  gave  a  preference  to  sour 
milk,  whenever  it  could  be  procured.18  In  that  respect 
he  differed  from  the  American  officer  with  whom  I  had 
travelled  almost  all  the  way  from  Shippensburgh. 

About  ten  miles  from  Greensburgh,  on  the  left,  is  a 
road  that  cuts  off  more  than  three  miles,  but  which  is 
only  passable  for  persons  on  foot  or  on  horseback.  We 
took  it,  and  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  perceived  the 
river  Monongahela,  which  we  coasted  till  within  a  short 
distance  of  Pittsburgh.  A  tremendous  shower  obliged 
us  to  take  shelter  in  a  house  about  a  hundred  fathoms 
from  the  river.  The  owner  having  recognized  us  to  be 
strangers,  informed  us  that  it  was  on  that  very  spot  that 
the  French,  in  the  seven  years'  war,  had  completely  de- 
feated General  Braddock;  and  he  also  showed  us  several 
trees  that  are  still  damaged  by  the  balls.19 

We  reached  Pittsburgh  at  a  very  early  hour,  when  [57] 
I  took  up  my  residence  with  a  Frenchman  named  Marie, 

18  These  last  sentences  result  from  a  faulty  translation  of  the  French.  Mi- 
chaux  stated  that  the  gentleman's  intention  was  to  descend  the  Ohio,  and  that 
he  was  not  fond  of  whiskey. —  Ed. 

18  For  a  description  of  the  present  appearance  of  Braddock's  battle-field, 
see  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied  Ohio  (New  York,  1897,  and  Chicago,  1903),  p. 
17;  also  "A  Day  on  Braddock's  Road,"  in  How  George  Rogers  Clark  won  the 
Northwest  (Chicago,  1903). —  Ed. 


156  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

who  keeps  a  respectable  inn.  What  pleased  me  most 
was  my  having  accomplished  my  journey,  as  I  began  to 
be  fatigued  with  travelling  over  so  mountainous  a  country ; 
for  during  an  extent  of  about  a  hundred  and  eighty  miles, 
which  I  had  travelled  almost  entirely  on  foot,  I  do  not 
think  I  walked  fifty  fathoms  without  either  ascending  or 
descending. 

[58]  CHAP.  VI 
Description  of  Pittsburgh. —  Commerce  of  the  Town  and 
adjacent  Countries  with  New  Orleans. —  Construction 
of  large  Vessels. —  Description  of  the  Rivers  Mononga- 
hela  and  Alleghany. —  Towns  situated  on  their  Banks. — 
Agriculture. —  Maple  Sugar. 

Pittsburgh  is  situated  at  the  conflux  of  the  rivers 
Monongahela  and  Alleghany,  the  uniting  of  which  forms 
the  Ohio.  The  even  soil  upon  which  it  is  built  is  not 
more  than  forty  or  fifty  acres  in  extent.  It  is  in  the  form 
of  an  angle,  the  three  sides  of  which  are  enclosed  either 
by  the  bed  of  the  two  rivers  or  by  stupendous  mountains. 
The  houses  are  principally  brick,  they  are  computed  to  be 
about  four  hundred,  most  of  which  are  built  upon  the 
Monongahela;  that  side  is  considered  the  most  commer- 
cial part  of  the  town.  As  a  great  number  of  the  houses 
are  separated  from  each  other  by  large  spaces,  the  [59] 
whole  surface  of  the  angle  is  completely  taken  up.  On 
the  summit  of  the  angle  the  French  built  Fort  Duquesne, 
which  is  now  entirely  destroyed,  and  nothing  more  is 
seen  than  the  vestige  of  the  ditches  that  surrounded  it.20 

20  Fort  Duquesne,  built  in  the  summer  of  1754  by  the  French  commander 
Contrecceur,  and  named  for  the  governor  of  New  France,  was  situated  directly 
in  the  point  or  angle  made  by  the  Monongahela  and  Allegheny  rivers.  It  was 
strengthened,  and  strongly  garrisoned,  during  the  four  years  which  the  French 
possessed  it;  and  was  evacuated  and  burned  by  its  commandant,  DeLignery, 
on  the  approach  of  Forbes's  army  in  November,  1758. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  157 

This  spot  affords  the  most  pleasing  view,  produced  by  the 
perspective  of  the  rivers,  overshadowed  with  forests,  and 
especially  the  Ohio,  which  flows  in  a  strait  line,  and,  to 
appearance,  loses  itself  in  space. 

The  air  is  very  salubrious  at  Pittsburgh  and  its  en- 
virons; intermittent  fevers  are  unknown  there,  although 
so  common  in  the  southern  states,  neither  are  they  tor- 
mented in  the  summer  with  musquitoes.  A  person  may 
subsist  there  for  one-third  of  what  he  pays  at  Philadelphia. 
Two  printing-offices  have  been  long  established  there, 
and,  for  the  amusement  of  the  curious,  each  publish  a 
newspaper  weekly.21 

Pittsburgh  has  been  long  considered  by  the  Americans 
as  the  key  to  the  western  country.  Thence  the  federal 
forces  were  marched  against  the  Indians  who  opposed  the 
former  settlement  of  the  Americans  in  Kentucky,  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  However,  now  the  Indian 
nations  are  repulsed  to  a  considerable  distance,  and  re- 
duced to  the  impossibility  [60]  of  hurting  the  most  remote 
settlers  in  the  interior  of  the  states;  besides,  the  western 
country  has  acquired  a  great  mass  of  population,  inso- 
much that  there  is  nothing  now  at  Pittsburgh  but  a  feeble 
garrison,  barracked  in  a  fort  belonging  to  the  town,  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Allighany.22 

However,  though  this  town  has  lost  its  importance  as  a 
military  post,  it  has  acquired  a  still  greater  one  in  respect 
to  commerce.  It  serves  as  a  staple  for  the  different  sorts 
of  merchandise  that  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  send, 

21  These  newspapers  were  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  founded  in  1786;  and  the 
Commonwealth,  a  Democratic  journal  begun  about  the  time  of  Michaux's 
visit. —  Ed. 

72  Michaux  here  refers  to  the  Indian  wars  of  the  Northwest,  culminating 
in  the  battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  in  1795,  followed  by  the  treaty  of  Greenville  in 
1796. —  Ed. 


158  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

in  the  beginning  of  spring  and  autumn,  for  supplying  the 
states  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  the  settlement  of  Natches. 

The  conveyance  of  merchandise  from  Philadelphia  to 
Pittsburgh  is  made  in  large  covered  waggons,  drawn  by 
four  horses  two  a-breast.  The  price  of  carrying  goods 
varies  according  to  the  season;  but  in  general  it  does  not 
exceed  six  piastres  the  quintal.  They  reckon  it  to  be 
three  hundred  miles  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh,  and 
the  carriers  generally  make  it  a  journey  of  from  twenty  to 
twenty-four  days.  The  price  of  conveyance  would  not 
be  so  high  as  it  really  is,  were  it  not  that  the  waggons  fre- 
quently return  empty;  notwithstanding  they  sometimes 
bring  back,  on  their  return  to  Philadelphia  or  [61]  Balti- 
more, fur  skins  that  come  from  Illinois  or  Ginseng,  which 
is  very  common  in  that  part  of  Pensylvania. 

Pittsburgh  is  not  only  the  staple  of  the  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore  trade  with  the  western  country,  but  of  the 
numerous  settlements  that  are  formed  upon  the  Monon- 
gahela  and  Alleghany.  The  territorial  produce  of  that 
part  of  the  country  finds  an  easy  and  advantageous  con- 
veyance by  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  Corn,  hams  and 
dried  pork  are  the  principal  articles  sent  to  New  Orleans, 
whence  they  are  re-exported  into  the  Carribbees.  They 
also  export  for  the  consumption  of  Louisiana,  bar-iron, 
coarse  linen,  bottles  manufactured  at  Pittsburgh,  whiskey, 
and  salt  butter.  A  great  part  of  these  provisions  come 
from  Redstone,  a  small  commercial  town,  situated  upon 
the  Monongahela,  about  fifty  miles  beyond  Pittsburgh.23 

23  As  early  as  1752,  the  Ohio  Company  had  built  a  storehouse,  called  the 
"Hangard,"  at  the  mouth  of  Redstone  Creek,  and  it  was  described  by  the 
French  officer  who  (1754)  explored  that  region  and  burned  the  English  de- 
fenses. After  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne  (1758),  Bouquet  sent  Colonel 
James  Burd  to  build  a  fort  at  this  place,  which  was  named  Fort  Burd;  but  it 
was  long  popularly  known  as  Redstone  Old  Fort,  because  of  the  remains  of 
moundbuilding  Indians  to  be  seen  at  this  point.     The  fort  was  abandoned 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  159 

All  these  advantages  joined  together  have,  within  these 
ten  years,  increased  ten-fold  the  population  and  price  of 
articles  in  the  town,  and  contribute  to  its  improvements, 
which  daily  grow  more  and  more  rapid. 

The  major  part  of  the  merchants  settled  at  Pittsburgh, 
or  in  the  environs,  are  the  partners,  or  else  the  factors, 
belonging  to  the  houses  at  Philadelphia.  [62]  Their 
brokers  at  New  Orleans  sell,  as  much  as  they  can,  for 
ready  money;  or  rather,  take  in  exchange  cottons,  indigo, 
raw  sugar,  the  produce  of  Low  Louisiana,  which  they 
send  off  by  sea  to  the  houses  at  Philadelphia  and  Balti- 
more, and  thus  cover  their  first  advances.  The  barge- 
men return  thus  by  sea  to  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore, 
whence  they  go  by  land  to  Pittsburgh  and  the  environs, 
where  the  major  part  of  them  generally  reside.  Although 
the  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  one  of  these  two  ports 
is  twenty  or  thirty  days,  and  that  they  have  to  take  a 
route  by  land  of  three  hundred  miles  to  return  to  Pitts- 
burgh, they  prefer  this  way,  being  not  so  difficult  as  the 
return  by  land  from  New  Orleans  to  Pittsburgh,  this  last 
distance  being  fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  miles.  How- 
ever, when  the  barges  are  only  destined  for  Limeston, 
in  Kentucky,  or  for  Cincinnati,  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  the 
bargemen  return  by  land,  and  by  that  means  take  a 
route  of  four  or  five  hundred  miles. 

The  navigation  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  is  so  much 
improved  of  late  that  they  can  tell  almost  to  a  certainty 
the  distance  from   Pittsburgh  to  New   Orleans,   which 

during  Pontiac's  War  (1763),  but  appears  to  have  been  garrisoned  by  the  time 
of  Lord  Dunmore's  War  (1774).  It  was  the  rendezvous  for  Clark's  men  in 
1778,  and  in  1791  the  assembly  place  for  fomenters  of  the  Whiskey  Rebellion. 
In  1785  the  town  of  Brownsville  was  incorporated,  and  for  many  years  con- 
tinued to  be  an  important  starting  point  for  Western  emigration.  See  Thwaites, 
On  the  Storied  Ohio,  for  descriptions  of  this  movement,  and  of  the  region  in 
general. —  Ed. 


160  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

they  compute  to  be  two  thousand  one  hundred  miles. 
The  barges  in  the  spring  season  [63]  usually  take  forty  or 
fifty  days  to  make  the  passage,  which  two  or  three  persons 
in  a  pirogue™  make  in  five  and-twenty  days. 

What  many,  perhaps,  are  ignorant  of  in  Europe  is, 
that  they  build  large  vessels  on  the  Ohio,  and  at  the 
town  of  Pittsburgh.  One  of  the  principal  ship  yards  is 
upon  the  Monongahela,  about  two  hundred  fathoms 
beyond  the  last  houses  in  the  town.  The  timber  they 
make  use  of  is  the  white  oak,  or  quercus  alba;  the  red  oak, 
or  quercus  rubra;  the  black  oak,  or  quercus  tinctoria;  a 
kind  of  nut  tree,  or  juglans  minima;  the  Virginia  cherry- 
tree,  or  cerasus  Virginia;  and  a  kind  of  pine,  which  they 
use  for  masting,  as  well  as  for  the  sides  of  the  vessels 
which  require  a  slighter  wood.  The  whole  of  this  timber 
being  near  at  hand,  the  expense  of  building  is  not  so 
great  as  in  the  ports  of  the  Atlantic  states.  The  cordage 
is  manufactured  at  Redstone  and  Lexinton,  where  there 
are  two  extensive  rope-walks,  which  also  supply  ships 
with  rigging  that  are  built  at  Marietta  and  Louisville. 
On  my  journey  to  Pittsburgh  in  the  month  of  July  1802, 
there  was  a  three-mast  vessel25  of  two  [64]  hundred  and 
fifty  tons,  and  a  smaller  one  of  ninety,  which  was  on  the 
point  of  being  finished.  These  ships  were  to  go,  in  the 
spring  following,  to  New  Orleans,  loaded  with  the  pro- 
duce of  the  country,  after  having  made  a  passage  of  two 
thousand  two  hundred  miles  before  they  got  into  the 
ocean.  There  is  no  doubt  but  they  can,  by  the  same  rule, 
build  ships  two  hundred  leagues  beyond  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  fifty  from  that  of  the  river  Illinois,  and  even 

24  An  Indian  boat. —  F.  A.  Michatjx. 

25 1  have  been  informed  since  my  return,  that  this  ship,  named  the  Pitts- 
burgh, was  arrived  at  Philadelphia. —  F.  A.  Michatjx. 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  1 6  i 

in  the  Mississippi,  two  hundred  beyond  the  place  whence 
these  rivers  flow;  that  is  to  say,  six  hundred  and  fifty 
leagues  from  the  sea;  as  their  bed  in  the  appointed  space 
is  as  deep  as  that  of  the  Ohio  at  Pittsburgh;  in  consequence 
of  which  it  must  be  a  wrong  conjecture  to  suppose  that  the 
immense  tract  of  country  watered  by  these  rivers  cannot 
be  populous  enough  to  execute  such  undertakings.  The 
rapid  population  of  the  three  new  western  states,  under 
less  favourable  circumstances,  proves  this  assertion  to  be 
true.26  Those  states,  where  thirty  years  ago  there  was 
scarcely  three  hundred  inhabitants,  are  now  computed  to 
contain  upwards  of  a  hundred  thousand;  and  although 
the  plantations  on  the  roads  are  scarcely  four  miles  dis- 
tant from  each  other,  it  is  very  rare  to  find  one,  even 
among  [65]  the  most  flourishing,  where  one  cannot  with 
confidence  ask  the  owner,  whence  he  has  emigrated;  or, 
according  to  the  trivial  manner  of  the  Americans,  "What 
part  of  the  world  do  you  come  from  ?"  as  if  these  immense 
and  fertile  regions  were  to  be  the  asylum  common  to  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  globe.  Now  if  we  consider  these 
astonishing  and  rapid  ameliorations,  what  ideas  must  we 
not  form  of  the  height  of  prosperity  to  which  the  western 
country  is  rising,  and  of  the  recent  spring  that  the  com- 
merce, population  and  culture  of  the  country  is  taking  by 
uniting  Louisiana  to  the  American  territory. 

The  river  Monongahela  derives  its  source  in  Virginia, 
at  the  foot  of  Laurel  Mountain,  which  comprises  a  part 
of  the  chain  of  the  Alleghanies;  bending  its  course  toward 
the  west,  it  runs  into  Pennsylvania,  and  before  it  reaches 
Alleghany  it  receives  in  its  current  the  rivers  Ch6at  and 
Youghiogheny,    which    proceed    from    the    south    west. 

26  Kentucky  was  erected  into  a  state  in  1792,  Tennessee  in  1796,  and  Ohio 
in  1802. —  Ed. 


1 6  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  territory  watered  by  this  river  is  extremely  fertile; 
and  the  settlements  formed  upon  the  banks  are  not  very 
far  apart.  It  begins  to  be  navigable  at  Morgan  Town, 
which  is  composed  of  about  sixty  houses,  and  is  situated 
upon  the  right,  within  a  hundred  miles  of  its  embouchure.21 
Of  all  the  little  towns  built  upon  [66]  the  Monongahela, 
New  Geneva  and  Redstone  have  the  most  active  com- 
merce. The  former  has  a  glass-house  in  it,  the  produce  of 
which  is  exported  chiefly  into  the  western  country;  the 
latter  has  shoe  and  paper  manufactories,  several  flour 
mills,  and  contains  about  five  hundred  inhabitants.  At 
this  town  a  great  number  of  those  who  emigrate  from  the 
eastern  states  embark  to  go  into  the  west.  It  is  also 
famous  for  building  large  boats,  called  Kentucky  boats. 
used  in  the  Kentucky  trade;  numbers  are  also  built  at 
Elizabeth  Town,28  situated  on  the  same  river,  about 
twenty-three  miles  from  Pittsburgh  —  the  Monongahela 
Farmer  was  launched  there,  a  sailing  vessel  of  two  hundred 
tons. 

Alleghany  takes  its  source  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from 
lake  Eria;  its  current  is  enlarged  by  the  French  Creek, 
and  various  small  rivers  of  less  importance.  The  Alle- 
ghany begins  to  be  navigable  within  two  hundred  miles 
of  Pittsburgh.     The  banks  of  this  river  are  fertile;  the 


27  Morgantown,  West  Virginia,  was  settled  originally  in  1758  by  the  ill- 
fated  Deckers,  who  were  massacred  the  following  year;  but  not  until  1768  was 
it  a  permanent  settlement  established  by  the  Morgan  brothers.  The  town  was 
incorporated  in  1785.     It  is  now  the  seat  of  West  Virginia  University. — Ed. 

28  The  settlement  of  Southwestern  Pennsylvania  —  the  Monongahela  and 
Youghiogheny  valleys  —  was  largely  by  emigrants  from  Virginia  and  the  South- 
east. Elizabeth  was  founded  by  Stephen  Bayard  of  Maryland,  a  Revolutionary 
officer  who  came  West  after  the  war  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Major 
Isaac  Craig  of  Pittsburg.  The  site  of  the  town  was  originally  called  New  Store. 
Bayard  gave  it  the  present  name  in  1787,  in  honor  of  his  wife.  It  was  from 
this  point  that  many  travellers  took  boats  for  the  Ohio  journey. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  163 

inhabitants  who  have  formed  settlements  there  export, 
as  well  as  those  of  Monongahela,  the  produce  of  their 
culture  by  the  way  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  On  the 
banks  of  this  river  they  begin  to  form  a  few  small  towns; 
among  the  most  considerable  are  Meadville,  situated  two 
[67]  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  Pittsburgh;  Franklin, 
about  two  hundred;  and  Freeport,  scarcely  one;  each  of 
which  does  not  contain  above  forty  or  fifty  houses. 

Let  the  weather  be  what  it  will,  the  stream  of  the 
Alleghany  is  clear  and  limped;  that  of  the  Monongahela, 
on  the  contrary,  grows  rather  muddy  with  a  few  days 
incessant  rain  in  that  part  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
where  it  derives  its  source. 

The  sugar-maple  is  very  common  in  every  part  of 
Pennsylvania  which  the  Monongahela  and  Alleghany 
water.  This  tree  thrives  most  in  cold,  wet,  and  moun- 
tainous countries,  and  its  seed  is  always  more  abundant 
when  the  winter  is  most  severe.  The  sugar  extracted 
from  it  is  generally  very  coarse,  and  is  sold,  after  having 
been  prepared  in  loaves  of  six,  eight,  and  ten  pounds  each, 
at  the  rate  of  seven-pence  per  pound.  The  inhabitants 
manufacture  none  but  for  their  own  use;  the  greater  part 
of  them  drink  tea  and  coffee  daily,  but  they  use  it  just 
as  it  has  passed  the  first  evaporation,  and  never  take  the 
trouble  to  refine  it,  on  account  of  the  great  waste  occa- 
sioned by  the  operation. 

[68]  CHAP.  VII 

Description  of  the  Ohio. —  Navigation  of  that  river. —  Mr. 
S.  Craft. —  The  object  of  his  travels. —  Remarks  upon 
the  State  of  Vermont. 

The  Ohio,  formed  by  the  union  of  the  Monongahela 
and  Alleghany  rivers,  appears  to  be  rather  a  continuance 


164  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

of  the  former  than  the  latter,  which  only  happens  obliquely 
at  the  conflux.  The  Ohio  may  be,  at  Pittsburgh,  two 
hundred  fathoms  broad.  The  current  of  this  immense 
and  magnificent  river  inclines  at  first  north  west  for  about 
twenty  miles,  then  bends  gradually  west  south  west.  It 
follows  that  direction  for  about  the  space  of  five  hundred 
miles ;  turns  thence  south  west  a  hundred  and  sixty  miles ; 
then  west  two  hundred  and  seventy-five;  at  length  runs 
into  the  Mississippi  in  a  south-westerly  direction,  in  the 
latitude  of  36  deg.46  min.  about  eleven  hundred  miles  from 
Pittsburgh,  and  nearly [69]  the  same  distance  from  Orleans. 
This  river  runs  so  extremely  serpentine,  that  in  going  down 
it,  you  appear  following  a  track  directly  opposite  to  the 
one  you  mean  to  take.  Its  breadth  varies  from  two 
hundred  to  a  thousand  fathoms.  The  islands  that  are 
met  with  in  its  current  are  very  numerous.  We  counted 
upward  of  fifty  in  the  space  of  three  hundred  and  eighty 
miles.  Some  contain  but  a  few  acres,  and  others  more 
than  a  thousand  in  length.  Their  banks  are  very  low, 
and  must  be  subject  to  inundations.  These  islands  are  a 
great  impediment  to  the  navigation  in  the  summer.  The 
sands  that  the  river  drives  up  form,  at  the  head  of  some  of 
them,  a  number  of  little  shoals;  and  in  this  season  of  the 
year  the  channel  is  so  narrow  from  the  want  of  water,  that 
the  few  boats,  even  of  a  middling  size,  that  venture  to  go 
down,  are  frequently  run  aground,  and  it  is  with  great 
difficulty  that  they  are  got  afloat;  notwithstanding  which 
there  is  at  all  times  a  sufficiency  of  water  for  a  skiff  or  a 
canoe.  As  these  little  boats  are  very  light  when  they 
strike  upon  the  sands,  it  is  very  easy  to  push  them  off  into 
a  deeper  part.  In  consequence  of  this,  it  is  only  in  the 
spring  and  autumn  that  the  Ohio  is  navigable,  at  least 
as  far  as  Limestone,  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  [70] 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  165 

miles  from  Pittsburgh.  During  those  two  seasons  the 
water  rises  to  such  a  height,  that  vessels  of  three  hundred 
tons,  piloted  by  men  who  are  acquainted  with  the  river, 
may  go  down  in  the  greatest  safety.  The  spring  season 
begins  at  the  end  of  February,  and  lasts  three  months; 
the  autumn  begins  in  October,  and  only  lasts  till  the  first 
of  December.  In  the  mean  time  these  two  epochs  fall 
sooner  or  later,  as  the  winter  is  more  or  less  rainy,  or  the 
rivers  are  a  shorter  or  a  longer  time  thawing.  Again, 
it  so  happens,  that  in  the  course  of  the  summer  heavy 
and  incessant  rains  fall  in  the  Alheghany  Mountains, 
which  suddenly  swell  the  Ohio:  at  that  time  persons  may 
go  down  it  with  the  greatest  safety;  but  such  circum- 
stances are  not  always  to  be  depended  on. 

The  banks  of  the  Ohio  are  high  and  solid;  its  current 
is  free  from  a  thousand  obstacles  that  render  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi  difficult,  and  often  dangerous,  when 
they  have  not  skilful  conductors.  On  the  Ohio  persons 
may  travel  all  night  without  the  smallest  danger;  instead 
of  which,  on  the  Mississippi  prudence  requires  them  to 
stop  every  evening,  at  least  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
to  Naches,  a  space  of  nearly  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
miles. 

[71]  The  rapidity  of  the  Ohio's  current  is  extreme  in 
spring;  at  the  same  time  in  this  season  there  is  no  necessity 
for  rowing.  The  excessive  swiftness  it  would  give,  by 
that  means,  to  the  boat  would  be  more  dangerous  than 
useful,  by  turning  it  out  of  the  current,  and  running  it 
upon  some  island  or  other,  where  it  might  get  entangled 
among  a  heap  of  dead  trees  that  are  half  under  water,  and 
from  which  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  extricate  them; 
for  which  reason  they  generally  go  with  the  current, 
which  is  always  strong  enough  to  advance  with  great 


1 66  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

celerity,  and  is  always  more  rapid  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream.  The  amazing  rapidity  of  the  Ohio  has  an  in- 
fluence on  the  shape  of  the  boats  that  navigate  upon  it, 
and  that  shape  is  not  calculated  to  accelerate  their  pro- 
gress, but  to  stem  the  current  of  the  stream.  All  the 
boats  or  barges,  whether  those  in  the  Kentucky  or  Mis- 
sissippi trade,  or  those  which  convey  the  families  that  go 
into  the  eastern  or  western  states,  are  built  in  the  same 
manner.  They  are  of  a  square  form,  some  longer  than 
others;  their  sides  are  raised  four  feet  and  a  half  above 
the  water ;  their  length  is  from  fifteen  to  fifty  feet ;  the  two 
extremities  are  square,  upon  one  of  which  is  a  kind  of 
awning,  under  which  the  passengers  shelter  themselves 
[72]  when  it  rains.  I  was  alone  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Monongahela,  when  I  perceived,  at  a  distance,  five  or  six 
of  these  barges,  which  were  going  down  the  river.  I  could 
not  conceive  what  these  great  square  boxes  were,  which, 
left  to  the  stream,  presented  alternately  their  ends,  sides, 
and  even  their  angles.  As  they  advanced,  I  heard  a 
confused  noise,  but  without  distinguishing  any  thing,  on 
account  of  their  sides  being  so  very  high.  However,  on 
ascending  the  banks  of  the  river,  I  perceived  in  these 
barges  several  families,  carrying  with  them  their  horses, 
cows,  poultry,  waggons,  ploughs,  harness,  beds,  instru- 
ments of  agriculture,  in  fine,  every  thing  necessary  to 
cultivate  the  land,  and  also  for  domestic  use.  These 
people  were  abandoning  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  the 
stream,  without  knowing  the  place  where  they  should 
stop,  to  exercise  their  industry,  and  enjoy  peaceably  the 
fruit  of  their  labour  under  one  of  the  best  governments 
that  exists  in  the  world. 

I  sojourned  ten  days  at  Pittsburgh,  during  which  I 
several   times   saw   the   Chevalier   Dubac,   formerly   an 


180a]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  167 

officer  in  the  French  service,  who,  obliged,  on  account 
of  the  revolution,  to  emigrate  from  France,  at  first  went 
to  settle  at  Scioto,  but  very  soon  after  [73]  changed 
his  residence,  and  went  to  Pittsburgh,  where  he  is  now 
in  trade.  He  has  very  correct  ideas  concerning  the  west- 
ern country;  he  is  also  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
navigation  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  having  several 
times  travelled  over  New  Orleans,  and  gives,  with  all 
possible  complaisance,  to  the  few  of  his  fellow-country- 
men who  go  into  that  country,  instructions  to  facilitate 
their  journey,  and  prevent  the  accidents  that  might 
happen  to  them. 

During  my  stay  at  Pittsburgh  I  formed  a  most  particular 
acquaintance  with  my  fellow-traveller  Mr.  Samuel  Craft, 
an  inhabitant  of  the  state  of  Vermont,  whom  I  met,  for 
the  first  time,  at  Greensburgh.  I  learnt  of  him,  among 
other  things,  that  in  this  state,  and  those  contiguous  to  it, 
the  expences  occasioned  by  clearing  the  land  are  always 
covered  by  the  produce  of  pearl-ashes,  extracted  from 
the  ashes  of  trees  which  they  burn;  and  that  there  are 
even  persons  who  undertake  to  clear  it  on  the  sole  condi- 
tion of  having  the  pearl-ashes.  This  kind  of  economy, 
however,  does  not  exist  in  the  other  parts  of  North 
America;  for  in  all  the  parts  of  the  east,  from  New 
York  westward,  the  trees  are  burnt  at  a  certain  loss.  It 
is  true  that  the  inhabitants  of  New  England,  which, 
properly  speaking,  comprehends  all  the  [74]  states  east 
of  New  York,  are  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  enter- 
prising and  industrious  of  all  the  Americans,  especially 
those  who  understand  domestic  economy  the  best. 

Mr.  Craft  then  imparted  to  me  the  intent  of  his  journey, 
which  was  to  be  convinced  that  what  he  had  seen  pub- 
lished upon  the  extraordinary  salubrity  and  fertility  of 


1 6  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  banks  of  the  river  Yazous  was  correct,  and  in  that 
case  to  acquire  for  himself  and  a  few  friends  several  acres 
of  land,  and  to  go  and  settle  there  with  two  or  three 
families  in  his  neighbourhood  who  were  rather  embar- 
rassed. The  motive  for  his  emigration  to  so  remote  a 
country  was  founded,  in  the  first  place,  on  the  length  of 
the  winters,  which  in  the  state  of  Vermont  are  as  severe 
as  in  Canada,  and  which  shackle  the  activity  of  its  inhabi- 
tants more  than  one  third  of  the  year;  and  in  the  next 
place,  upon  the  cheapness  of  the  country's  produce:  in- 
stead of  which,  in  those  parts  watered  by  the  river  Yaz- 
ous,29 the  temperature  of  the  climate  and  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  are  favourable  to  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  indigo, 
and  tobacco,  [75]  the  produce  of  which  is  a  great  deal 
more  lucrative  than  that  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  sale  of  which  is  assured  by  their 
exportation  to  New  Orleans,  where  they  can  go  and  come 
by  the  river  in  less  than  a  fortnight. 

[76]  CHAP.  VIII 

Departure  from  Pittsburgh  for  Kentucky. —  Journey  by 
land  to  Wheeling. —  State  oj  agriculture  on  the  route. — 
West  Liberty  Town  in  Virginia. —  Wheeling. 

Mr.  Craft  and  I  agreed  to  go  together  to  Kentucky 
by  the  Ohio,  preferring  that  way,  although  longer  by  a 
hundred  and  forty  miles,  to  that  by  land,  which  is  more 
expensive.  However,  as  the  season  of  the  year  being 
that  when  the  waters  are  at  the  lowest,  to  gain  time,  and 
to  avoid  a  considerable  winding  which  the  river  makes 
on  leaving  Pittsburgh,  we  were  advised  to  embark  at 
Wheeling,  a  small  town  situated  upon  the  Ohio,  eighty 

29  The  river  Yazous  runs  into  the  Mississippi  between  the  thirty-second  and 
thirty-third  degree  of  latitude. —  F.  A.  Michattx. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  1 69 

miles  lower  down  the  river,  but  not  so  far  by  land.30  On 
the  14th  of  July,  in  the  evening,  we  set  out  on  foot,  and 
crossed  the  Monongahela  at  John's  Ferry,  situated  on 
the  opposite  bank,  at  the  bottom  of  Coal-Hill,  a  very 
lofty  mountain  which  borders  the  river  to  a  vast  [77] 
extent,  insomuch  that  it  conceals  the  view  of  all  the 
houses  at  Pittsburgh  built  on  the  other  side. 

After  having  coasted  along  the  borders  of  the  Ohio  about 
a  mile  and  a  half,  we  entered  the  wood,  and  went  to 
sleep  at  an  indifferent  inn  at  Charter  Creek,  where  there 
was  but  one  bed  destined  for  travellers:  whenever  it 
happens  that  several  travellers  meet  together,  the  last 
that  arrive  sleep  on  the  floor,  wrapped  in  the  rug  which 
they  always  carry  with  them  when  they  travel  into  the 
remote  parts  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  day  we  made  upwards  of  twenty  miles, 
and  went  to  lodge  with  one  Patterson.  On  this  route  the 
plantations  are  two  or  three  miles  distant  from  each  other, 
and  more  numerous  than  in  the  interior  of  the  country, 
which  is  a  general  observation  of  all  travellers.  The 
inhabitants  of  this  part  of  Pennsylvania  are  precise  in 
their  behaviour,  and  very  religious.  We  saw,  in  some 
places,  churches  isolated  in  the  woods,  and  in  others, 
pulpits  placed  beneath  large  oaks.  Patterson  holds  a 
considerable  and  extensive  farm,  and  a  corn-mill  built 
upon  a  small  river.  He  sends  his  corn  to  New  Orleans. 
The  rivers  and  creeks  are  rather  scarce  in  this  part  of 
Virginia,  on  which  account  they  are  obliged  to  [78]  have 
recourse  to  mills  which  they  turn  by  horses;  but  the  flour 
that  comes  from  them  is  consumed  in  the  country,  not 

30  An  early  trader  on  the  Ohio,  speaking  of  the  return  journey,  says,  "As  soon 
as  we  got  to  Wheeling,  we  went  on  foot  to  Pittsburgh,  it  being  less  fatiguing  and 
costing  less  time  to  walk  57  miles,  the  land  distance,  than  to  pole  and 
paddle  90  miles,  the  distance  by  the  river."  —  Cist's  A dvertiser,  November, 
1849. — Ed. 


170  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

being  susceptible  of  entering  into  trade.  Nobody  has 
ever  yet  thought  of  constructing  windmills,  although 
there  are  on  the  top  of  several  of  the  hills  places  sufficiently 
cleared,  that  offer  favourable  situations. 

On  the  1 6th  of  July  we  arrived  at  Wheeling,  very  much 
fatigued.  We  were  on  foot,  and  the  heat  was  extreme. 
Our  journey  was  rendered  more  difficult  from  the  nature 
of  the  country,  which  is  covered  with  hills  very  close 
together,  to  some  of  which  we  were  almost  half  an  hour 
before  we  could  reach  the  summit.  About  six  miles  from 
Patterson's  we  found  the  line  of  demarkation  that  sepa- 
rates Pennsylvania  from  Virginia,  and  cuts  the  road  at 
right  angles.  This  line  is  traced  by  the  rubbish  that  is 
piled  up  on  lofty  eminences,  consisting  of  all  the  large 
trees,  in  a  breadth  of  forty  feet.  Twelve  miles  before 
our  arrival  at  Wheeling  we  passed  by  Liberty  Town,  a 
small  town  consisting  of  about  a  hundred  houses,  built 
upon  a  hill.31  The  plantations  are  numerous  in  the 
environs,  and  the  soil,  although  even,  is  extremely  fer- 
tile. The  produce  of  the  lands  vary:  they  produce  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  bushels  of  corn  [79]  per  acre,  when  they 
are  entirely  cleared,  and  only  twelve  to  fifteen  when  the 
clearing  away  is  not  complete,  that  is  to  say,  when  there 
are  many  stumps  remaining;  for  in  clearing  they  begin 
by  cutting  the  trees  within  two  feet  of  the  ground,  and 
after  that  dig  up  the  stumps.  It  is  proper  to  observe 
that  the  inhabitants  give  only  one  tillage,  use  no  manure, 

31  The  boundary  line  between  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  was  the  cause  of 
much  disturbance,  each  colony  claiming  the  region  south  of  the  Ohio.  The 
Monongahela  Valley  was  settled  largely  from  Virginia,  and  on  several  occasions 
the  conflict  of  jurisdiction  nearly  led  to  a  border  war.  The  settlers  them- 
selves desired  a  new  state.  The  controversy  was  finally  settled  by  an  agreement 
between  the  states  in  1780,  although  the  lines  were  not  finally  run  until  1785. 
See  Turner,  "Western  State  Making  in  the  Revolutionary  Era,"  in  American 
Historical  Review,  i,  pp.  81-83. 

West  Liberty  was  established  as  a  town  November  29,  1787. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  171 

and  never  let  the  soil  lie  idle.  The  value  of  this  land  is 
according  to  its  quality.  The  best,  in  the  proportion  of 
twenty  to  twenty-five  acres  cleared,  for  a  lot  of  two  or 
three  hundred,  is  not  worth  more  than  three  or  four 
piastres  per  acre.  The  taxes  are  from  a  half-penny  to  a 
penny  per  acre.  The  hands  being  very  scarce,  labour  is 
dear,  and  by  no  means  in  proportion  with  the  price  of 
produce ;  the  result  of  which  is,  that  in  all  the  middle  and 
southern  states,  within  fifty  miles  of  the  sea,  each  pro- 
prietor clears  very  little  more  than  what  he  can  cultivate 
with  his  family,  or  with  the  reciprocal  aid  of  some  of  his 
neighbours.  This  is  applied  more  particularly  to  the 
western  country,  where  every  individual  may  easily  pro- 
cure land,  and  is  excited  to  labour  by  its  incomparable 
fertility. 

Within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  West  Liberty  Town  the 
road  passes  through  a  narrow  valley  about  four  miles 
long,  the  borders  of  which,  elevated  in  [80]  many  places 
from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet,  present  several  beds  of 
coal  from  five  to  six  feet  thick,  growing  horizontally. 
This  substance  is  extremely  common  in  all  that  part  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia;  but  as  the  country  is  nothing 
but  one  continued  forest,  and  its  population  scarce,  these 
mines  are  of  no  account.  On  the  other  hand,  were  they 
situated  in  the  eastern  states,  where  they  burn,  in  the 
great  towns,  coals  imported  from  England,  their  value 
would  be  great. 

The  trees  that  grow  in  this  valley  are  very  close  to- 
gether, and  of  large  diameter,  and  their  species  more 
varied  than  in  any  country  I  had  seen  before. 

Wheeling,  situated  on  one  of  the  lofty  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  has  not  been  above  twelve  years  in  existence:  it 
consists  of  about  seventy  houses,  built  of  wood,  which, 
as  in  all  the  new  towns  of  the  United  States,  are  separated 


172  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

by  an  interval  of  several  fathoms.  This  little  town  is 
bounded  by  a  long  hill,  nearly  two  hundred  fathoms 
high,  the  base  of  which  is  not  more  than  two  hundred 
fathoms  from  the  river.  In  this  space  the  houses  are 
built,  forming  but  one  street,  in  the  middle  of  which  is 
the  main  road,  which  follows  the  windings  of  the  river 
for  a  distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles.  From 
fifteen  to  twenty  large  [81]  shops,  well  stocked,  supply 
the  inhabitants  twenty  miles  round  with  provisions. 
This  little  town  also  shares  in  the  export  trade  that  is 
carried  on  at  Pittsburgh  with  the  western  country.  Num- 
bers of  the  merchants  at  Philadelphia  prefer  sending  their 
goods  there,  although  the  journey  is  a  day  longer:  but 
this  trifling  inconvenience  is  well  compensated  by  the 
advantage  gained  in  avoiding  the  long  winding  which 
the  Ohio  makes  on  leaving  Pittsburgh,  where  the  numer- 
ous shallows  and  the  slow  movement  of  the  stream,  in 
summer  time,  retard  the  navigation. 

We  passed  the  night  at  Wheeling  with  Captain  Rey- 
mer,  who  keeps  the  sign  of  the  Waggon,  and  takes  in 
boarders  at  the  rate  of  two  piastres  a- week.  The  accom- 
modation, on  the  whole,  is  very  comfortable,  provisions 
in  that  part  of  the  country  being  remarkably  cheap.  A 
dozen  fowls  could  be  bought  for  one  piastre,  and  a  hun- 
dred weight  of  flour  was  then  only  worth  a  piastre  and  a 
half. 

[82]  CHAP.  IX 
Departure  from  Wheeling  jor  Marietta. —  Aspect  of  the 
Banks   of   the   Ohio. —  Nature   of   the   Forests. —  Ex- 
traordinary size  of  several  kinds  of  Trees. 

On  the  18th  of  July  in  the  morning  we  purchased  a 
canoe,  twenty-four  feet  long,  eighteen  inches  wide,  and 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  173 

about  as  many  in  depth.  These  canoes  are  always  made 
with  a  single  trunk  of  a  tree;  the  pine  and  tulip  tree  are 
preferred  for  that  purpose,  the  wood  being  very  soft. 
These  canoes  are  too  narrow  to  use  well  with  oars,  and  in 
shallow  water  are  generally  forced  along  either  with  a 
paddle  or  a  staff.  Being  obliged  at  times  to  shorten  our 
journey  by  leaving  the  banks  of  the  river,  where  one  is 
under  shade,  to  get  into  the  current,  or  to  pass  from  one 
point  to  another,  and  be  exposed  to  the  heat  of  a  scorching 
sun,  we  covered  our  canoe  a  quarter  of  its  length  with  a 
piece  of  cloth  thrown  [83]  upon  two  hoops.  In  less  than 
three  quarters  of  an  hour  we  made  up  our  minds  to  con- 
tinue our  journey  by  water;  notwithstanding  we  were 
obliged  to  defer  our  departure  till  the  afternoon,  to  wait 
for  provisions  which  we  might  have  wanted  by  the  way; 
as  the  inhabitants  who  live  in  different  parts  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river  are  very  badly  supplied. 

We  left  Wheeling  about  five  in  the  afternoon,  made 
twelve  miles  that  evening,  and  went  to  sleep  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Ohio,  which  forms  the  boundary  of  the 
government,  described  by  the  name  of  the  North  West 
territory  of  the  Ohio,  and  which  is  now  admitted  in  the 
union  under  the  denomination  of  the  State  of  Ohio. 
Although  we  had  made  no  more  than  twelve  miles  we 
were  exceedingly  fatigued,  not  so  much  by  continually 
paddling  as  by  remaining  constantly  seated  with  our  legs 
extended.  Our  canoe  being  very  narrow  at  bottom, 
obliged  us  to  keep  that  position;  the  least  motion  would 
have  exposed  us  to  being  overset.  However,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days  custom  made  these  inconveniences  disap- 
pear, and  we  attained  the  art  of  travelling  comfortably. 

We  took  three  days  and  a  half  in  going  to  Marietta, 
about  a  hundred  miles  from  Wheeling.     Our  [84]  second 


1 74  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

day  was  thirty  miles,  the  third  forty,  and  on  the  fourth 
in  the  morning  we  reached  this  little  town,  situated  at  the 
mouth  of  the  great  Muskingum.  The  first  day,  wholly 
taken  up  with  this  mode  of  travelling,  so  novel  to  us, 
and  which  did  not  appear  to  me  to  be  very  safe,  I  did  not 
bend  my  attention  further;  but  on  the  following  day, 
better  used  to  this  kind  of  navigation,  I  observed  more 
tranquilly  from  our  canoe,  the  aspect  that  the  borders 
of  this  magnificent  river  presented. 

Leaving  Pittsburgh,  the  Ohio  flows  between  two  ridges, 
or  lofty  mountains,  nearly  of  the  same  height,  which  we 
judged  to  be  about  two  hundred  fathoms.  Frequently 
they  appeared  undulated  at  their  summit,  at  other  times 
it  seemed  as  though  they  had  been  completely  level. 
These  hills  continue  uninterruptedly  for  the  space  of  a 
mile  or  more,  then  a  slight  interval  is  observed,  that  some- 
times affords  a  passage  to  the  rivers  that  empty  them- 
selves into  the  Ohio;  but  most  commonly  another  hill  of 
the  same  height  begins  at  a  very  short  distance  from  the 
place  where  the  preceding  one  left  off.  These  moun- 
tains rise  successively  for  the  space  of  three  hundred 
miles,  and  from  our  canoe  we  were  enabled  to  observe 
them  more  distinctly,  as  they  were  more  or  less  distant 
[85]  from  the  borders  of  the  river.  Their  direction  is 
parallel  to  the  chain  of  the  Alleghanies;  and  although 
they  are  at  times  from  forty  to  a  hundred  miles  distant 
from  them,  and  that  for  an  extent  of  two  hundred  miles, 
one  cannot  help  looking  upon  them  as  belonging  to  these 
mountains.  All  that  part  of  Virginia  situated  upon  the 
left  bank  of  the  Ohio  is  excessively  mountainous,  cov- 
ered with  forests,  and  almost  uninhabited,  where  I 
have  been  told  by  those  who  live  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  they  go  every  winter  to  hunt  bears. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  175 

They  give  the  name  of  river-bottoms  and  flat-bottoms 
to  the  flat  and  woody  ground  between  the  foot  of  these 
mountains  and  the  banks  of  the  river,  the  space  of  which 
is  sometimes  five  or  six  miles  broad.  The  major  part 
of  the  rivers  which  empty  themselves  into  the  Ohio  have 
also  these  river-bottoms,  which,  as  well  as  those  in  ques- 
tion, are  of  an  easy  culture,  but  nothing  equal  to  the  fer- 
tility of  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  The  soil  is  a  true  vege- 
table humus,  produced  by  the  thick  bed  of  leaves  with 
which  the  earth  is  loaded  every  year,  and  which  is  speedily 
converted  into  mould  by  the  humidity  that  reigns  in 
these  forests.  But  what  adds  still  more  to  the  thickness 
of  these  successive  beds  of  vegetable  [86]  earth  are  the 
trunks  of  enormous  trees,  thrown  down  by  time,  with 
which  the  surface  of  the  soil  is  bestrewed  in  every  part, 
and  which  rapidly  decays.  In  more  than  a  thousand 
leagues  of  the  country,  over  which  I  have  travelled  at 
different  epochs,  in  North  America,  I  do  not  remember 
having  seen  one  to  compare  with  the  latter  for  the  vegeta- 
tive strength  of  the  forests.  The  best  sort  of  land  in 
Kentucky  and  Tenessea,  situated  beyond  the  mountains 
of  Cumberland,  is  much  the  same;  but  the  trees  do  not 
grow  to  such  a  size  as  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio.  Thirty- 
six  miles  before  our  arrival  at  Marietta  we  stopped  at 
the  hut  of  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  right  bank,  who 
shewed  us,  about  fifty  yards  from  his  door,  a  palm-tree, 
or  platanus  occidentalis,  the  trunk  of  which  was  swelled 
to  an  amazing  size;  we  measured  it  four  feet  beyond  the 
surface  of  the  soil,  and  found  it  forty-seven  feet  in  cir- 
cumference. It  appeared  to  keep  the  same  dimensions 
for  the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  it  then  divided  into 
several  branches  of  a  proportionate  size.  By  its  exter- 
nal appearance  no  one  could  tell  that  the  tree  was  hollow ; 


176  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

however  I  assured  myself  it  was  by  striking  it  in  several 
places  with  a  billet.  Our  host  told  us  that  if  we  would 
spend  the  day  with  him  he  would  [87]  shew  us  others  as 
large,  in  several  parts  of  the  wood,  within  two  or  three 
miles  of  the  river.  This  circumstance  supports  the  obser- 
vations which  my  father  made,  when  travelling  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  that  the  poplar  and  palm  are,  of  all 
the  trees  in  North  America,  those  that  attain  the  greatest 
diameter. 

"About  fifteen  miles,"  said  he,  "up  the  river  Mus- 
kingum, in  a  small  island  of  the  Ohio,  we  found  a  palm- 
tree,  or  platanus  occidentalism  the  circumference  of  which, 
five  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  where  the  trunk 
was  most  uniform,  was  forty  feet  four  inches,  which 
makes  about  thirteen  feet  in  diameter.  Twenty  years 
prior  to  my  travels,  General  Washington  had  measured 
this  same  tree,  and  had  found  it  nearly  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions. I  have  also  measured  palms  in  Kentucky,  but  I 
never  met  with  any  above  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  in  circum- 
ference.    These  trees  generally  grow  in  marshy  places. 

"The  largest  tree  in  North  America,  after  the  palm, 
is  the  poplar,  or  liriodendron  tulipijera.  Its  circumfer- 
ence is  sometimes  fifteen,  sixteen,  and  even  eighteen  feet: 
Kentucky  is  their  native  country;  between  Beard  Town 
and  Louisville  we  [88]  saw  several  parts  of  the  wood 
which  were  exclusively  composed  of  them.  The  soil  is 
clayey,  cold  and  marshy;  but  never  inundated. 

"The  trees  that  are  usually  found  in  the  forests  that 
border  the  Ohio  are  the  palm,  or  platanus  occidentalism 
the  poplar,  the  beach-tree,  the  magnolia  acuminata,  the 
celtis  occidentalism  the  acacia,  the  sugar-maple,  the  red 
maple,  the  populus  nigra,  and  several  species  of  nut-trees ; 
the  most  common  shrubs  are,  the  annona  triloba,  the 
evonimus  latijolius,  and  the  laurus  bensoin.' 


)  j 


1802]  F.  A.  Michauxs  Trave/s  177 

[89]  CHAP.  X 

Marietta. —  Ship  building. —  Departure  for  Gallipoli. — 
Falling  in  with  a  Kentucky  Boat. —  Point- Pleasant. — 
The  Great  Kenhaway. 

Marietta,  the  chief  of  the  settlements  on  the  New 
Continent,  is  situated  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Great 
Muskingum,  at  its  embouchure  in  the  Ohio.  This  town, 
which  fifteen  years  ago  was  not  in  existence,  is  now  com- 
posed of  more  than  two  hundred  houses,  some  of  which 
are  built  of  brick,  but  the  greatest  part  of  wood.  There 
are  several  from  two  to  three  stories  high,  which  are 
somewhat  elegantly  built;  nearly  all  of  them  are  in  front 
of  the  Ohio.  The  mountains  which  from  Pittsburgh  run 
by  the  side  of  this  river,  are  at  Marietta  some  distance  from 
its  banks,  and  leave  a  considerable  extent  of  even  ground, 
which  will  facilitate,  in  every  respect,  the  enlarging  of  the 
town  upon  a  [90]  regular  plan,  and  afford  its  inhabitants 
the  most  advantageous  and  agreeable  situations;  it  will 
not  be  attended  with  the  inconveniences  that  are  met 
with  at  Pittsburgh,  which  is  locked  in  on  all  sides  by 
lofty  mountains. 

The  inhabitants  of  Marietta  were  the  first  that  had 
an  idea  of  exporting  directly  to  the  Carribbee  Islands  the 
produce  of  the  country,  in  a  vessel  built  in  their  own 
town,  which  they  sent  to  Jamaica.  The  success  which 
crowned  this  first  attempt  excited  such  emulation  among 
the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  Western  Country,  that 
several  new  vessels  were  launched  at  Pittsburgh  and 
Louisville,  and  expedited  to  the  isles,  or  to  New  York 
and  Philadelphia.  The  ship  yard  at  Marietta  is  situated 
near  the  town,  on  the  Great  Muskingum.  When  I  was 
there  they  were  building  three  brigs,  one  of  which  was  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty  tons  burthen. 


178  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  river  Muskingum  takes  its  source  toward  Lake 
Eria;  it  is  not  navigable  for  two  hundred  miles  from  its 
mouth  in  the  Ohio,  where  it  is  about  a  hundred  and  sixty 
fathoms  broad.32  The  country  that  it  runs  through,  and 
especially  its  banks,  are  extremely  fertile. 

Near  the  town  of  Marietta  are  the  remains  of  several 
[91]  Indian  fortifications.  When  they  were  discovered, 
they  were  full  of  trees  of  the  same  nature  as  those  of  the 
neighbouring  forests,  some  of  which  were  upwards  of  three 
feet  diameter.  These  trees  have  been  hewn  down,  and 
the  ground  is  now  almost  entirely  cultivated  with  Indian 
corn. 

Major- General  Hart,  with  whose  son  I  was  acquainted 
at  Marietta,  gave,  in  the  Columbia  Magazine  for  the 
year  1787,  Vol.  I.  No.  9,  a  plan  and  a  minute  description 
of  these  ancient  fortifications  of  the  Indians:  the  transla- 
tion of  which  is  given  in  his  Travels  in  Upper  Pennsylvania. 
This  officer,  of  the  most  distinguished  merit,  fell  in  the 
famous  battle  that  General  St.  Clair33  lost  in  1791,  near 
Lake  Eria,  against  the  united  savages.  When  I  was  at 
Marietta,  General  St.  Clair  was  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  a  post  which  he  occupied  till  this  state  was  admitted 
in  the  union.  His  Excellency  coming  from  Pittsburgh 
and  going  to  Chillicotha,  alighted  at  the  inn  where  I 
lodged.     As  he  was  travelling  in  an  old  chaise,  and  with- 

32  The  translation  here  is  faulty.  It  should  be,  "  it  is  navigable  for  only  two 
hundred  miles,"  etc. —  Ed. 

33  General  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  America 
during  the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  settled  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 
He  served  with  much  success  in  the  Revolution,  and  in  1787  was  president  of 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederation.  He  was  appointed  by  Washington  first 
governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  served  in  that  capacity  1788-1802. 
He  was  unpopular  because  of  the  military  defeat  here  mentioned,  and  his 
Federalist  principles.  On  his  dismissal,  in  1802,  he  retired  to  his  home  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  died  there  in  obscurity  in  1818. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  179 

out  a  servant,  he  did  not  at  first  attract  my  attention.  In 
the  United  States,  those  who  are  called  by  the  wish  of  their 
fellow-citizens  to  exercise  these  important  functions  do 
not  change  their  dress,  continue  dwelling  in  their  own 
houses,  [92]  and  live  like  private  individuals,  without 
showing  more  ostentation,  or  incurring  more  expense. 
The  emoluments  attached  to  this  office  varies  in  every 
state;  that  of  South  Carolina,  one  of  the  richest  of  the 
union,  gives  its  governor  4280  piastres,  while  the  Gover- 
nor of  Kentucky  receives  no  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen 
hundred.  The  inhabitants  of  the  State  of  Ohio  are 
divided  in  opinion  concerning  the  political  conduct  of 
General  St.  Clair.  With  respect  to  talents,  he  has  the 
reputation  of  being  a  better  lawyer  than  a  soldier. 

On  the  eve  of  my  departure  I  met  a  Frenchman  at 
Marietta,  who  is  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Great  Mus- 
kingum, about  twenty  miles  from  the  town.  I  regretted 
much  my  inability  to  accept  the  invitation  that  he  gave 
me  to  go  and  see  him  at  his  plantation,  which  would  have 
given  me  time  to  make  more  extensive  observations  in 
that  part  of  the  Western  Country. 

On  the  21st  of  July  we  set  out  from  Marietta  for  Gal- 
lipoli,  which  is  a  distance  of  about  a  hundred  miles.  We 
reached  there  after  having  been  four  days  on  the  water. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  country,  by  putting  off  from  the 
shore  in  the  night  time,  would  have  made  that  passage  in 
two  days  and  a  half  [93]  or  three  days.  According  to  the 
calculation  that  we  made,  the  mean  force  of  the  stream 
was  about  a  mile  and  a  half  an  hour;  it  is  hardly  to  be 
perceived  in  those  parts  where  the  water  is  very  deep; 
but  as  you  get  nearer  the  isles,  which,  as  I  have  said  before, 
are  very  numerous,  the  bed  of  the  river  diminishes  in 
depth,  so  that  frequently  there  is  not  a  foot  of  water  out  of 


i  8  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  main  channel.  Whenever  we  came  near  those  shal- 
lows the  swiftness  of  the  current  was  extreme,  and  the 
canoe  was  carried  away  like  an  arrow,  which  led  us  to 
observe  that  it  was  only  as  we  distanced  the  islands  that 
the  bed  increases  in  depth,  and  that  the  stream  becomes 
less  rapid. 

On  the  day  of  our  departure  we  joined,  in  the  eve- 
ning, a  Kentucky  boat,  destined  for  Cincinnati.  This 
boat,  about  forty  feet  long  and  fifteen  broad,  was  loaded 
with  bar  iron  and  brass  pots.  There  was  also  an  emi- 
grant family  in  it,  consisting  of  the  father,  mother,  and 
seven  children,  with  all  their  furniture  and  implements 
of  husbandry.  The  boatmen,  three  in  number,  granted 
us,  without  difficulty,  permission  to  fasten  our  canoe  to 
the  end  of  their  boat,  and  to  pass  the  night  with  them. 
We  intended,  by  that  means,  to  accelerate  our  journey, 
by  not  putting  up  [94]  at  night,  as  we  had  before  been 
accustomed  to  do,  and  hoped  to  spend  a  more  comforta- 
ble night  than  the  preceding  one,  during  which  we  had 
been  sadly  tormented  by  the  fleas,  with  which  the  greater 
part  of  the  houses  where  we  had  slept,  from  the  moment 
of  our  embarkation,  had  been  infested.  However  our 
hopes  were  frustrated ;  for  so  far  from  being  comfortable, 
we  were  still  more  incommoded.  In  the  course  of  my 
travels  it  was  only  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  that  I  ex- 
perienced this  inconvenience. 

We  were  on  the  point  of  leaving  them  about  two  in 
the  morning,  when  the  boat  ran  aground.  Under  these 
circumstances  we  could  not  desert  our  hosts,  who  had 
entertained  us  with  their  best,  and  who  had  made  us 
partake  of  a  wild  turkey  which  they  had  shot  the  preced- 
ing evening  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  We  got  into  the 
water  with  the  boatmen,  and  by  the  help  of  large  sticks 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  1 8  i 

that  we  made  use  of  as  oars  succeeded  in  pushing  the 
vessel  afloat,  after  two  hours'  painful  efforts. 

In  the  course  of  the  night  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Kenhawayy  which,  after  having  watered  that  part 
of  Virginia,  empties  itself  into  the  Ohio,  on  its  right 
bank.  Its  borders  are  not  inhabited  for  more  than 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from  its  embouchure.  [95]  The 
remainder  of  the  country  is  so  mountainous  that  they 
will  not  think  of  forming  settlements  there  this  long  time. 
About  five  miles  on  this  side  the  mouth  of  this  little  river, 
and  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio,  is  situated  Bellepree, 
where  there  are  not  more  than  a  dozen  houses;  but  the 
settlements  formed  in  the  environs  increase  rapidly. 
This  intelligence  was  given  us  at  a  house  where  we  stopped 
after  having  left  the  Kentucky  boat. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  about  ten  in  the  morning,  we 
discovered  Point  Pleasant,  situated  a  little  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Kenhaway,  at  the  extremity  of  a 
point  formed  by  the  right  bank  of  this  river,  which  runs 
nearly  in  a  direct  line  as  far  as  the  middle  of  the  Ohio. 
What  makes  the  situation  more  beautiful  is,  that  for 
four  or  five  miles  on  this  side  the  Point,  the  Ohio,  four 
hundred  fathoms  broad,  continues  the  same  breadth 
the  whole  of  that  extent,  and  presents  on  every  side  the 
most  perfect  line.  Its  borders,  sloping,  and  elevated 
from  twenty-five  to  forty  feet,  are,  as  in  the  whole  of  its 
windings,  planted,  at  their  base,  with  willows  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  in  height,  the  drooping  branches 
and  foliage  of  which  form  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the 
sugar  maples,  red  maples,  and  ash  trees,  situated  imme- 
diately [96]  above.  The  latter,  in  return,  are  overlooked 
by  palms,  poplars,  beeches,  magnolias  of  the  highest 
elevation,   the   enormous   branches  of  which,   attracted 


1 8  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

by  a  more  splendid  light  and  easier  expansion,  extend 
toward  the  borders,  overshadowing  the  river,  at  the  same 
time  completely  covering  the  trees  situated  under  them. 
This  natural  display,  which  reigns  upon  the  two  banks, 
affords  on  each  side  a  regular  arch,  the  shadow  of  which, 
reflected  by  the  crystal  stream,  embellishes,  in  an  ex- 
traordinary degree,  this  magnificent  coup  aVceil. 

The  Ohio  at  Marietta  presents  a  perspective  some- 
what similar,  perhaps  even  more  picturesque  than  the 
one  I  have  just  described,  through  the  houses  of  this  little 
town,  that  we  perceived  five  or  six  miles  off,  the  situation 
of  which  is  fronting  the  middle  of  the  river,  going  up. 

The  Great  Kenhaway,  more  known  in  the  country 
under  that  denomination  than  by  that  of  the  New  River, 
which  it  bears  in  some  charts,  takes  its  source  at  the 
foot  of  the  Yellow  Mountain  in  Tennessea,  but  the  mass 
of  its  waters  proceed  from  one  part  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.  The  falls  and  currents  that  are  so  fre- 
quently met  with  in  this  river,  for  upward  [97]  of  four 
hundred  miles,  will  always  be  an  obstacle  to  the  expor- 
tation, by  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  of  provisions 
from  the  part  of  Virginia  which  it  waters.  Its  banks 
are  inhabited,  but  less  than  those  of  the  Ohio. 

[98]  CHAP.  XI 
Gallipoli. —  State  of  the  French  colony  Scioto. —  Alexan- 
dria at  the  mouth  0}    the    Great    Scioto. —  Arrival  at 
Limestone  in  Kentucky. 

Gallipoli  is  situated  four  miles  below  Point  Pleasant, 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio.  At  this  place  assembled 
nearly  a  fourth  part  of  the  French,  who,  in  1789  and  1790, 
left  their  country  to  go  and  settle  at  Scioto :  but  it  was  not 
till  after  a  sojourn  of  fifteen  months  at  Alexandria  in 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  i  8  3 

Virginia,  where  they  waited  the  termination  of  the  war 
with  the  savages,  that  they  could  take  possession  of  the 
lands  which  they  had  bought  so  dearly.  They  were 
even  on  the  point  of  being  dispossessed  of  them,  on  ac- 
count of  the  disputes  that  arose  between  the  Scioto  Com- 
pany and  that  of  the  Ohio,  of  whom  the  former  had 
primitively  purchased  these  estates;  but  scarcely  had 
they  arrived  upon  the  soil  that  was  destined  for  [99]  them 
when  the  war  broke  out  afresh  between  the  Americans 
and  Indians,  and  ended  in  the  destruction  of  those  unfor- 
tunate colonies.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  alone  and  desti- 
tute of  support,  they  would  have  been  all  massacred,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  predilection  which  all  the  Indian  nations 
round  Canada  and  Louisiana  have  for  the  French. 
Again,  as  long  as  they  did  not  take  an  active  part  in 
that  war,  they  were  not  disturbed:  but  the  American 
army  having  gained  a  signal  advantage  near  the  embou- 
chure of  the  Great  Kenaway,  and  crossed  the  Ohio,  the 
inhabitants  of  Gallipoli  were  united  to  it.  From  that 
time  they  were  no  longer  protected,  nor  could  they  stir 
out  of  the  inclosure  of  their  village.  Out  of  two  that  had 
strayed  not  more  than  two  hundred  yards,  one  was  scalped 
and  murdered,  and  the  other  carried  a  prisoner  a  great 
distance  into  the  interior.  When  I  was  at  Gallipoli  they 
had  just  heard  from  him.  He  gained  his  livelihood  very 
comfortably  by  repairing  guns,  and  exercising  his  trade 
as  a  goldsmith  in  the  Indian  village  where  he  lived,  and 
did  not  express  the  least  wish  to  return  with  his  country- 
men. 

The  war  being  terminated,  the  congress,  in  order  to 
indemnify  these  unfortunate  Frenchmen  for  the  [100] 
successive  losses  which  they  had  sustained,  gave  them 
twenty   thousand   acres   of   land    situated    between    the 


184  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

small  rivers  Sandy  and  Scioto,  seventy  miles  lower  than 
Gallipoli.  These  twenty  thousand  acres  were  at  the 
rate  of  two  hundred  and  ten  acres  to  every  family.  Those 
among  them  who  had  neither  strength  nor  resolution 
enough  to  go  a  second  time,  without  any  other  support 
than  that  of  their  children,  to  isolate  themselves  amidst 
the  woods,  hew  down,  burn,  and  root  up  the  lower  parts 
of  trees,  which  are  frequently  more  than  five  feet  in 
diameter,  and  afterward  split  them  to  inclose  their  fields, 
sold  their  lots  to  the  Americans  or  Frenchmen  that  were 
somewhat  more  enterprising.  Thirty  families  only  went 
to  settle  in  their  new  possessions.  Since  the  three  or  four 
years  that  they  have  resided  there  they  have  succeeded, 
by  dint  of  labour,  in  forming  for  themselves  tolerable 
establishments,  where,  by  the  help  of  a  soil  excessively 
fertile,  they  have  an  abundant  supply  of  provisions;  at 
least  I  conceived  so,  when  I  was  there. 

Gallipoli,  situated  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio,  is  com- 
posed solely  of  about  sixty  log-houses,  most  of  which  being 
uninhabited,  are  falling  into  ruins;  the  rest  are  occupied 
by  Frenchmen,  who  breathe  out  a  [101]  miserable  exis- 
tence. Two  only  among  them  appear  to  enjoy  the  small- 
est ray  of  comfort:  the  one  keeps  an  inn,  and  distills 
brandy  from  peaches,  which  he  sends  to  Kentucky,  or 
sells  it  at  a  tolerable  advantage:  the  other,  M.  Burau, 
from  Paris,  by  whom  I  was  well  entertained,  though  unac- 
quainted with  him.  Nothing  can  equal  the  perseverance 
ui"  fHs  Frenchman,  whom  the  nature  of  his  commerce 
obliges  continually  to  travel  over  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
and  to  make,  once  or  twice  a  year,  a  journey  of  four  or 
five  hundred  miles  through  the  woods,  to  go  to  the  towns 
situated  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  I  learnt  from 
him  that  the  intermittent  fevers,  which  at  first  had  added 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  185 

to  the  calamities  of  the  inhabitants  of  Gallipoli,  had  not 
shown  itself  for  upwards  of  three  years.  That,  however, 
did  not  prevent  a  dozen  of  them  going  lately  to  New 
Orleans  in  quest  of  a  better  fortune,  but  almost  all  of 
them  died  of  the  yellow  fever  the  first  year  after  their 
arrival. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  the  establishment  of  Scioto 
when  I  was  there.  Though  they  did  not  succeed  better, 
it  is  not  that  the  French  are  less  persevering  and  indus- 
trious than  the  Americans  and  Germans;  it  is  that  among 
those  who  departed  for  Scioto  not  a  tenth  part  were  fit 
for  the  toils  they  [102]  were  destined  to  endure.  How- 
ever, it  was  not  politic  of  the  speculators,  who  sold  land 
at  five  shillings  an  acre,  which  at  that  time  was  not  worth 
one  in  America,  to  acquaint  those  whom  they  induced  to 
purchase  that  they  would  be  obliged,  for  the  two  first 
years,  to  have  an  axe  in  their  hands  nine  hours  a  day;  or 
that  a  good  wood-cutter,  having  nothing  but  his  hands, 
would  be  sooner  at  his  ease  on  those  fertile  borders,  but 
which  he  must,  in  the  first  place,  clear,  than  he  who, 
arriving  there  with  two  or  three  hundred  guineas  in  his 
purse,  is  unaccustomed  to  such  kind  of  labour.  This 
cause,  independent  of  the  war  with  the  natives,  was  more 
than  sufficient  to  plunge  the  new  colonists  in  misery,  and 
stifle  the  colony  in  its  birth.34 

34  Michaux  has  here  given  a  good  account  of  the  unfortunate  French  colony 
founded  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Kanawha.  The  Scioto  Company  was  an  offshoot  of  the  Ohio  Company 
formed  by  Manasseh  Cutler  and  his  associates.  In  May,  1788,  the  Scioto 
Company  employed  Joel  Barlow,  "the  patriot  poet  of  the  Revolution,"  to  go 
to  Paris  and  sell  lands  for  them.  The  buyers  were,  as  Michaux  remarks, 
unsuited  to  pioneer  life;  the  company  overcharged  them,  and  then  ensued  litiga- 
tion in  which  the  settlers  lost  the  titles  to  their  lands.  The  log-houses  men- 
tioned by  Michaux  were  built  for  the  settlers  on  their  arrival  in  October,  1790, 
but  the  severity  of  the  climate,  Indian  hostilities,  and  frontier  hardships,  deci- 
mated their  ranks.     The  present  town  has  been  built  up  by  the  energy  of 


I  86  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

On  the  25th  of  July  we  set  out  from  Gallipoli  for 
Alexandria,  which  is  about  a  hundred  and  four  miles  dis- 
tant, and  arrived  there  in  three  days  and  a  half.  The 
ground  designed  for  this  town  is  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Scioto,  and  in  the  angle  which  the  right  bank  of 
this  river  forms  with  the  north  west  border  of  the  Ohio. 
Although  the  plan  of  Alexandria  has  been  laid  out  these 
many  years,  nobody  goes  to  settle  there;  and  the  number 
of  its  houses  is  not  more  than  twenty,  the  major  part  of 
which  are  [103]  log-houses.  Notwithstanding  its  situa- 
tion is  very  favourable  with  regard  to  the  numerous  set- 
tlements already  formed  beyond  the  new  town  upon  the 
Great  Scioto,  whose  banks,  not  so  high,  and  more  marshy, 
are,  it  is  said,  nearly  as  fertile  as  those  of  the  Ohio.  The 
population  would  be  much  more  considerable,  if  the  in- 
habitants were  not  subject,  every  autumn,  to  intermittent 
fevers,  which  seldom  abate  till  the  approach  of  winter. 
This  part  of  the  country  is  the  most  unwholesome  of  all 
those  that  compose  the  immense  state  of  Ohio.  The 
seat  of  government  belonging  to  this  new  state  is  at 
Chillicotha,  which  contains  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
houses,  and  is  situated  sixty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Scioto.     A  weekly  newspaper  is  published  there.35 

At  Alexandria,  and  the  other  little  towns  in  the  west- 
ern country,  which  are  situated  upon  a  very  rich  soil, 

American  and  German  settlers,  and  in  1893  but  three  descendants  of  the  French 
settlers  lived  there.  For  further  accounts,  see  Winsor,  Westward  Movement 
(Boston,  1897),  PP-  4°2-4°7>  498;  "Centennial  of  Gallipolis,"  in  Ohio  Archajo- 
logical  and  Historical  Society  Publications,  iii;  and  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied 
Ohio. —  Ed. 

35  Chillicothe,  on  the  site  of  the  famous  Indian  village,  was  laid  out  in  1796 
by  General  Massie  as  an  American  town.  It  was  in  the  heart  of  the  Virginia 
military  district,  and  was  chiefly  settled  by  Southerners.  It  was  the  seat  of 
government  for  Ohio  until  181 6.  The  weekly  newspaper  was  the  Scioto  Gazette, 
begun  at  this  place  in  1800  by  Nathaniel  Willis,  grandfather  of  the  poet  N.  P. 
Willis.—  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  187 

the  space  between  every  house  is  almost  entirely  covered 
with  stramonium.  This  dangerous  and  disagreeable 
plant  has  propagated  surprisingly  in  every  part  where 
the  earth  has  been  uncovered  and  cultivated  within  twelve 
or  fifteen  years ;  and  let  the  inhabitants  do  what  they  will, 
it  spreads  still  wider  every  year.  It  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  have  made  its  appearance  at  James-Town  in 
Virginia,  whence  it  derived  [104]  the  name  of  James- 
weed.  Travellers  use  it  to  heal  the  wounds  made  on 
horses'  backs  occasioned  by  the  rubbing  of  the  saddle. 

Mullein  is  the  second  European  plant  that  I  found  very 
abundant  in  the  United  States,  although  in  a  less  pro- 
portion than  the  stramonium.  It  is  very  common  on  the 
road  leading  from  Philadelphia  to  Lancaster,  but  less 
so  past  the  town;  and  I  saw  no  more  of  it  beyond  the 
Alleghany  Mountains. 

On  the  1st  of  August  we  arrived  at  Limestone  in  Ken- 
tucky, fifty  miles  lower  than  Alexandria.  There  ended 
my  travels  on  the  Ohio.  We  had  come  three  hundred 
and  forty-eight  miles  in  a  canoe  from  Wheeling,  and  had 
taken  ten  days  to  perform  the  journey,  during  which  we 
were  incessantly  obliged  to  paddle,  on  account  of  the 
slowness  of  the  stream.  This  labour,  although  painful, 
at  any  rate,  to  those  who  are  unaccustomed  to  it,  was 
still  more  so  on  account  of  the  intense  heat.  We  also 
suffered  much  from  thirst,  not  being  able  to  procure  any 
thing  to  drink  but  by  stopping  at  the  plantations  on  the 
banks  of  the  river;  for  in  summer  the  water  of  the  Ohio 
acquires  such  a  degree  of  heat,  that  it  is  not  fit  to  be 
drank  till  it  has  been  kept  twenty-four  hours.  This  ex- 
cessive heat  is  occasioned,  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  [105] 
extreme  heat  of  the  climate  in  that  season  of  the  year, 
and  on  the  other,  by  the  slow  movement  of  the  stream. 


I  88  Early  Western  Travels /  [Vol.  3 

I  had  fixed  on  the  1st  of  October  to  be  the  epoch  of 
my  return  to  Charleston  in  South  Carolina,  and  I  had 
nearly  a  thousand  miles  to  go  by  land  before  I  could 
arrive  there,  in  executing  the  design  I  had  formed  of 
travelling  through  the  state  of  Tennessea,  which  length- 
ened my  route  considerably.  Pressed  for  time,  I  relin- 
quished the  intention  I  had  formed  of  going  farther  down 
the  Ohio,  and  took  leave  of  Mr.  Samuel  Craft,  who  pur- 
sued by  himself,  in  a  canoe,  his  journey  to  Louisville, 
whence,  after  having  come  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi, 
he  was  to  proceed  up  the  river  Yazous  to  go  to  Natches, 
and  then  return  by  land  to  the  state  of  Vermont,  where  he 
expected  to  be  about  the  middle  of  November  following, 
after  having  made,  in  six  months,  a  circuit  of  nearly  four 
thousand  miles. 

[106]  CHAP.  XII 
Fish  and  shells  0}  the  Ohio  —  Inhabitants  on  the  Banks  of 
the  river  —  Agriculture  —  American  Emigrant  —  Com- 
mercial Intelligence  relative  to  that  part  of  the  United 
States. 

The  banks  of  the  Ohio,  although  elevated  from  twenty 
to  sixty  feet,  scarcely  afford  any  strong  substances  from 
Pittsburgh;  and  except  large  detached  stones  of  a  grey- 
ish colour  and  very  soft,  that  we  observed  in  an  extent 
of  ten  or  twelve  miles  below  Wheeling,  the  remainder  part 
seems  vegetable  earth.  A  few  miles  before  we  reached 
Limestone  we  began  to  observe  a  bank  of  a  chalky  nature, 
the  thickness  of  which  being  very  considerable,  left  no 
room  to  doubt  but  what  it  must  be  of  a  great  extent. 

Two  kinds  of  flint,  roundish  and  of  a  middling  size, 
furnished  the  bed  of  the  Ohio  abundantly,  especially  as 
we  approached  the  isles,  where  they  are  accumulated 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic /mux's  Travels  189 

[107]  by  the  strength  of  the  current;  some  of  a  darkish 
hue,  break  easily;  others  smaller,  and  in  less  quantities, 
are  three  parts  white,  and  scarcely  transparent. 

In  the  Ohio,  as  well  as  in  the  Alleghany,  Monongahela, 
and  other  rivers  in  the  west,  they  find  in  abundance  a 
species  of  Mulette  which  is  from  five  to  six  inches  in 
length.  They  do  not  eat  it,  but  the  mother-o'-pearl  which 
is  very  thick  in  it,  is  used  in  making  buttons.  I  have 
seen  some  at  Lexinton  which  were  as  beautiful  as  those 
they  make  in  Europe.  This  new  species  which  I  brought 
over  with  me,  has  been  described  by  Mr.  Bosc,  under  the 
name  of  the  Unio  Ohiotensis. 

The  Ohio  abounds  in  fish  of  different  kinds;  the  most 
common  is  the  cat-fish,  or  silurus  jelis,  which  is  generally 
caught  with  a  line,  and  weighs  sometimes  a  hundred 
pounds.  The  first  fold  of  the  upper  fins  of  this  fish  are 
strong  and  pointed,  similar  to  those  of  a  perch,  which  he 
makes  use  of  to  kill  others  of  a  lesser  size.  He  swims 
several  inches  under  the  one  he  wishes  to  attack,  then 
rising  rapidly,  he  pierces  him  several  times  in  the  belly; 
this  we  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  twice  in  the 
course  [108]  of  our  navigation.  This  fish  is  also  taken 
with  a  kind  of  spear. 

Till  the  years  1796  and  1797  the  banks  of  the  Ohio 
were  so  little  populated  that  they  scarcely  consisted  of 
thirty  families  in  the  space  of  four  hundred  miles;  but 
since  that  epoch  a  great  number  of  emigrants  have  come 
from  the  mountainous  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Vir- 
ginia, and  settled  there ;  in  consequence  of  which  the  plan- 
tations now  are  so  increased,  that  they  are  not  farther 
than  two  or  three  miles  distant  from  each  other,  and 
when  on  the  river  we  always  had  a  view  of  some  of  them* 

The  inhabitants  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio,  employ 


190  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  greatest  part  of  their  time  in  stag  and  bear  hunting, 
for  the  sake  of  the  skins,  which  they  dispose  of.  The 
taste  that  they  have  contracted  for  this  kind  of  life  is 
prejudicial  to  the  culture  of  their  lands ;  besides  they  have 
scarcely  any  time  to  meliorate  their  new  possessions, 
that  usually  consist  of  two  or  three  hundred  acres,  of 
which  not  more  than  eight  or  ten  are  cleared.  Never- 
theless, the  produce  that  they  derive  from  them,  with  the 
milk  of  their  cows,  is  sufficient  for  themselves  and  fami- 
lies, which  are  always  very  numerous.  The  houses  that 
they  inhabit  [109]  are  built  upon  the  borders  of  the  river, 
generally  in  a  pleasant  situation,  whence  they  enjoy  the 
most  delightful  prospects;  still  their  mode  of  building 
does  not  correspond  with  the  beauties  of  the  spot,  being 
nothing  but  miserable  log  houses,  without  windows,  and 
so  small  that  two  beds  occupy  the  greatest  part  of  them. 
Notwithstanding  two  men  may  erect  and  finish,  in  less 
than  three  days,  one  of  these  habitations,  which,  by  their 
diminutive  size  and  sorry  appearance,  seem  rather  to 
belong  to  a  country  where  timber  is  very  scarce,  instead  of 
a  place  that  abounds  with  forests.  The  inhabitants  on  the 
borders  of  the  Ohio  do  not  hesitate  to  receive  travellers 
who  claim  their  hospitality;  they  give  them  a  lodging, 
that  is  to  say,  they  permit  them  to  sleep  upon  the  floor 
wrapped  up  in  their  rugs.  They  are  accommodated 
with  bread,  Indian  corn,  dried  ham,  milk  and  butter, 
but  seldom  any  thing  else;  at  the  same  time  the  price  of 
provisions  is  very  moderate  in  this  part  of  the  United 
States,  and  all  through  the  western  country. 

No  attention  is  paid  by  the  inhabitants  to  any  thing 
else  but  the  culture  of  Indian  corn;  and  although  it 
is  brought  to  no  great  perfection,  the  soil  being  so  full 
of  roots,  the  stems  are  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  [no]  high, 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  191 

and  produce  from  twenty  to  thirty-five  hundred  weight  of 
corn  per  acre.  For  the  three  first  years  after  the  ground 
is  cleared,  the  corn  springs  up  too  strong,  and  scatters 
before  it  ears,  so  that  they  cannot  sow  in  it  for  four  or 
five  years  after,  when  the  ground  is  cleared  of  the  stumps 
and  roots  that  were  left  in  at  first.  The  Americans  in 
the  interior  cultivate  corn  rather  through  speculation  to 
send  the  flour  to  the  sea-ports,  than  for  their  own  con- 
sumption; as  nine  tenths  of  them  eat  no  other  bread  but 
that  made  from  Indian  corn;  they  make  loaves  of  it  from 
eight  to  ten  pounds,  which  they  bake  in  ovens,  or  small 
cakes  baked  on  a  board  before  the  fire.  This  bread  is 
generally  eaten  hot,  and  is  not  very  palatable  to  those 
who  are  not  used  to  it. 

The  peach  is  the  only  fruit  tree  that  they  have  as  yet 
cultivated,  which  thrives  so  rapidly  that  it  produces  fruit 
after  the  second  year. 

The  price  of  the  best  land  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio 
did  not  exceed  three  piastres  per  acre;  at  the  same  time 
it  is  not  so  dear  on  the  left  bank  in  the  States  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky,  where  the  settlements  are  not  looked 
upon  as  quite  so  good. 

The  two  banks  of  the  Ohio,  properly  speaking,  not 
having  been  inhabited  above  eight  or  nine  years,  [in] 
nor  the  borders  of  the  rivers  that  run  into  it,  the  Ameri- 
cans who  are  settled  there,  share  but  very  feebly  in  the 
commerce  that  is  carried  on  through  the  channel  of  the 
Mississippi.  This  commerce  consists  at  present  in 
hams  and  salted  pork,  brandies  distilled  from  corn  and 
peaches,  butter,  hemp,  skins  and  various  sorts  of  flour. 
They  send  again  cattle  to  the  Atlantic  States.  Trades- 
people who  supply  themselves  at  Pittsburgh  and  Wheel- 
ing, and  go  up  and  down  the  river  in  a  canoe,  convey 


192  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

them  haberdashery  goods,  and  more  especially  tea  and 
coffee,  taking  some  of  their  produce  in  return. 

More  than  half  of  those  who  inhabit  the  borders  of 
the  Ohio,  are  again  the  first  inhabitants,  or  as  they  are 
called  in  the  United  States,  the  first  settlers,  a  kind  of  men 
who  cannot  settle  upon  the  soil  that  they  have  cleared, 
and  who  under  pretence  of  finding  a  better  land,  a  more 
wholesome  country,  a  greater  abundance  of  game,  push 
forward,  incline  perpetually  towards  the  most  distant 
points  of  the  American  population,  and  go  and  settle 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  savage  nations,  whom  they 
brave  even  in  their  own  country.  Their  ungenerous  mode 
of  treating  them  stirs  up  frequent  broils,  that  brings  on 
bloody  wars,  in  which  they  generally  fall  victims;  [112] 
rather  on  account  of  their  being  so  few  in  number,  than 
through  defect  of  courage. 

Prior  to  our  arrival  at  Marietta,  we  met  one  of  these 
settlers,  an  inhabitant  of  the  environs  of  Wheeling,  who 
accompanied  us  down  the  Ohio,  and  with  whom  we 
travelled  for  two  days.  Alone  in  a  canoe  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  feet  long,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches 
broad,  he  was  going  to  survey  the  borders  of  the  Missouri38 
for  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  beyond  its  embouchure. 
The  excellent  quality  of  the  land  that  is  reckoned  to  be 
more  fertile  there  than  that  on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio, 
and  which  the  Spanish  government  at  that  time  ordered 
to  be  distributed  gratis,  the  quantity  of  beavers,  elks,  and 
more  especially  bisons,  were  the  motives  that  induced 
him  to  emigrate  into  this  remote  part  of  the  country, 

38  The  banks  of  this  river  are  now  inhabited  by  the  Americans,  for  forty 
miles  beyond  its  embouchure  in  the  Mississippi;  the  number  of  thofe  who  are 
fettled  there  is  computed  to  be  about  three  thoufand,  and  it  increafes  daily 
by  the  repeated  emigrations  that  are  made  from  Kentucky  and  the  Upper 
Carolinas. —  F.  A.  Michaux. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  193 

whence  after  having  determined  on  a  suitable  spot  to 
settle  there  with  his  family,  he  was  returning  to  fetch 
them  from  the  borders  of  the  Ohio,  which  obliged  him 
to  take  a  journey  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  [113] 
miles,  his  costume,  like  that  of  all  the  American  sports- 
men, consisted  of  a  waistcoat  with  sleeves,  a  pair  of  pan- 
taloons, and  a  large  red  and  yellow  worsted  sash.  A 
carabine,  a  tomahawk  or  little  axe,  which  the  Indians 
make  use  of  to  cut  wood  and  to  terminate  the  existence  of 
their  enemies,  two  beaver-snares,  and  a  large  knife  sus- 
pended at  his  side,  constituted  his  sporting  dress.  A  rug 
comprised  the  whole  of  his  luggage.  Every  evening  he 
encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  where,  after  having 
made  a  fire,  he  passed  the  night;  and  whenever  he  con- 
ceived the  place  favourable  for  the  chace,  he  remained 
in  the  woods  for  several  days  together,  and  with  the  pro- 
duce of  his  sport,  he  gained  the  means  of  subsistence, 
and  new  ammunition  with  the  skins  of  the  animals  that 
he  had  killed. 

Such  were  the  first  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessea,  of  whom  there  are  now  remaining  but  very  few. 
It  was  they  who  began  to  clear  those  fertile  countries, 
and  wrested  them  from  the  savages  who  ferociously  dis- 
puted their  right;  it  was  they,  in  short,  who  made  them- 
selves masters  of  the  possessions,  after  five  or  six  years' 
bloody  war:  but  the  long  habit  of  a  wandering  and  idle 
life  has  prevented  their  enjoying  the  fruit  of  their  labours, 
and  profiting  by  [114]  the  very  price  to  which  these  lands 
have  risen  in  so  short  a  time.  They  have  emigrated  to 
more  remote  parts  of  the  country,  and  formed  new  set- 
tlements. It  will  be  the  same  with  most  of  those  who 
inhabit  the  borders  of  the  Ohio.  The  same  inclination 
that  led  them  there  will  induce  them  to  emigrate  from  it. 


194  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

To  the  latter  will  succeed  fresh  emigrants,  coming  also 
from  the  Atlantic  states,  who  will  desert  their  possessions 
to  go  in  quest  of  a  milder  climate  and  a  more  fertile  soil. 
The  money  that  they  will  get  for  them  will  suffice  to  pay 
for  their  new  acquisitions,  the  peaceful  delight  of  which 
is  assured  by  a  numerous  population.  The  last  comers 
instead  of  log-houses,  with  which  the  present  inhabitants 
are  contented,  will  build  wooden  ones,  clear  a  greater 
quantity  of  the  land,  and  be  as  industrious  and  persever- 
ing in  the  melioration  of  their  new  possessions  as  the 
former  were  indolent  in  every  thing,  being  so  fond  of 
hunting.  To  the  culture  of  Indian  corn  they  will  add 
that  of  other  grain,  hemp,  and  tobacco;  rich  pasturages 
will  nourish  innumerable  flocks,  and  an  advantageous 
sale  of  all  the  country's  produce  will  be  assured  them 
through  the  channel  of  the  Ohio. 

The  happy  situation  of  this  river  entitles  it  to  be  looked 
upon  as  the  centre  of  commercial  activity  between  [115] 
the  eastern  and  western  states.  By  it  the  latter  receive 
the  manufactured  goods  which  Europe,  India,  and  the 
Caribbees  supply  the  former;  and  it  is  the  only  open 
communication  with  the  ocean,  for  the  exportation  of 
provisions  from  the  immense  and  fertile  part  of  the  United 
States  comprised  between  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  the 
lakes,  and  the  left  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

All  these  advantages,  blended  with  the  salubrity  of 
the  climate  and  the  beauty  of  the  landscapes,  enlivened 
in  the  spring  by  a  group  of  boats  which  the  current  whirls 
along  with  an  astonishing  rapidity,  and  the  uncommon 
number  of  sailing  vessels  that  from  the  bosom  of  this  vast 
continent  go  directly  to  the  Caribbees;  all  these  advan- 
tages, I  say,  make  me  think  that  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
from   Pittsburgh   to   Louisville  inclusively,   will,   in   the 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  195 

course  of  twenty  years,  be  the  most  populous  and  com- 
mercial part  of  the  United  States,  and  where  I  should 
settle  in  preference  to  any  other. 

[116]  CHAP.  XIII 

Limestone. —  Route  from  Limestone  to  Lexinton. —  Wash- 
ington.—  Salt-works  at  Mays-Lick. —  Millesburgh.  — 
Paris. 

Limestone,  situated  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
consists  only  of  about  thirty  or  forty  houses  constructed 
with  wood.  This  little  town,  built  upwards  of  fifteen  years, 
one  would  imagine  to  be  more  extensive.  It  has  long 
been  the  place  where  all  the  emigrants  landed  who  came 
from  the  Northern  States  by  the  way  of  Pittsburgh,  and  is 
still  the  staple  for  all  sorts  of  merchandize  sent  from 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  to  Kentucky. 

The  travellers  who  arrive  at  Limestone  by  the  Ohio 
find  great  difficulty  in  procuring  horses  on  hire,  to  go  to 
the  places  of  their  destination.  The  inhabitants  there, 
as  well  as  at  Shippensburgh,  take  this  undue  advantage, 
in  order  to  sell  them  at  an  [117]  enormous  price.  As  I 
intended  staying  some  time  at  Lexinton,  which  would 
greatly  enhance  my  expenses,  I  resolved  to  travel  there 
on  foot ;  upon  which  I  left  my  portmanteau  with  the  land- 
lord of  the  inn  where  I  stopped,  which  he  undertook  for  a 
piaster  to  send  me  to  Lexinton,  and  I  set  off  the  same 
day.  It  is  reckoned  from  Limestone  to  Lexinton  to  be 
sixty-five  miles,  which  I  went  in  two  days  and  a  half. 
The  first  town  we  came  to  was  Washington,  which  was 
only  four  miles  off.37    It  is  much  larger  than  Limestone, 

37  The  route  from  Limestone  to  Lexington  was  the  road  whereby  most  of 
the  travel  by  way  of  the  Ohio  came  into  Kentucky.  It  passed  through  the  pres- 
ent county  of  Mason,  along  the  western  corner  of  Fleming,  crossed  the  Licking 


196  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

and  contains  about  two  hundred  houses,  all  of  wood,  and 
built  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  Trade  is  very  brisk 
there;  it  consists  principally  in  corn,  which  is  exported 
to  New  Orleans.  There  are  several  very  fine  plantations 
in  the  environs,  the  land  of  which  is  as  well  cultivated 
and  the  enclosures  as  well  constructed,  as  at  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania.  I  went  seven  miles  the  first  evening, 
and  on  the  following  day  reached  Springfield,  composed 
of  five  or  six  houses,  among  the  number  of  which  are  two 
spacious  inns,  well  built,  where  the  inhabitants  of  the 
environs  assemble  together.  Thence  I  passed  through 
Mays-Lick,  where  there  is  a  salt-mine.  I  stopped  there 
to  examine  the  process  pursued  for  the  extraction  of  salt. 
The  [118]  wells  that  supply  the  salt  water  are  about  twenty 
feet  in  depth,  and  not  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  fathoms 
from  the  river  Salt-Lick,  the  waters  of  which  are  some- 
what brackish  in  summer  time.  For  evaporation  they 
make  use  of  brazen  pots,  containing  about  two  hundred 
pints,  and  similar  in  form  to  those  used  in  France  for 
making  lye.  They  put  ten  or  a  dozen  of  them  in  a  row 
on  a  pit  four  feet  in  depth,  and  a  breadth  proportionate 
to  their  diameter,  so  that  the  sides  lay  upon  the  edge  of 
the  pit,  supported  by  a  few  handfuls  of  white  clay,  which 
fill  up  but  very  imperfectly  the  spaces  between  the  ves- 
sels. The  wood,  which  they  cut  in  billets  of  about  three 
feet,  is  thrown  in  at  the  extremities  of  the  pit.  These 
sort  of  kilns  are  extravagant,  and  consume  a  prodigious 
quantity  of  wood ;  I  made  an  observation  of  it  to  the  people 

River  in  Nicholas  County,  and  the  South  Fork  of  the  same  at  Hinkston's  Ferry, 
thence  passed  through  Bourbon  and  Fayette  counties  to  Lexington. 

Washington  was  first  settled  by  Simon  Kenton,  the  well-known  pioneer 
hunter,  in  1784;  it  was  laid  out  as  a  town  in  1786;  and  was  the  seat  of  Mason 
County  from  1788-1848.  With  the  introduction  of  railroads,  its  importance 
declined. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux 's  Travels  197 

.employed  in  the  business,  to  which  they  made  answer, 
that  they  did  not  know  there  was  any  preferable  mode; 
and  they  should  follow  their  own  till  some  person  or  other 
from  the  Old  Country  (meaning  Europe)  came  and 
taught  them  to  do  better.  The  scarcity  of  hands  for 
the  cutting  down  and  conveyance  of  the  wood,  and  the 
few  saline  principles  that  the  water  contains  when  dis- 
solved, occasions  the  salt  to  be  very  dear;  they  sell  it  at 
from  four  to  [119]  five  piasters  per  hundred  weight.  It  is 
that  scarcity  which  induces  many  of  them  to  search  for 
salt  springs.  They  are  usually  found  in  places  described 
by  the  name  of  Licks  where  the  bisons,  elks,  and  stags 
that  existed  in  Kentucky  before  the  arrival  of  the  Europ- 
eans, went  by  hundreds  to  lick  the  saline  particles  with 
which  the  soil  is  impregnated.  There  are  in  this  state 
and  that  of  Tenessea  a  set  of  quacks,  who  by  means  of  a 
hazle  wand  pretend  to  discover  springs  of  salt  and  fresh 
water;  but  they  are  only  consulted  by  the  more  ignorant 
class  of  people,  who  never  send  for  them  but  when  they 
are  induced  by  some  circumstance  or  other  to  search  over  a 
spot  of  ground  where  they  suspect  one  of  those  springs. 

The  country  we  traversed  ten  miles  on  this  side  Mays- 
Lick,  and  eight  miles  beyond,  did  not  afford  the  least 
vestige  of  a  plantation.  The  soil  is  dry  and  sandy;  the 
road  is  covered  with  immense  flat  chalky  stones,  of  a 
bluish  cast  inside,  the  edges  of  which  are  round.  The 
only  trees  that  we  observed  were  the  white  oak,  or  quer- 
cus  alba,  and  nut-tree,  or  juglans  hickery,  but  their  stinted 
growth  and  wretched  appearance  clearly  indicated  the 
sterility  of  the  soil,  occasioned,  doubtless,  by  the  salt 
mines  that  it  contains. 

[120]  From  Mays-Lick  I  went  to  Millesburgh,  com- 
posed of  fifty  houses;  I  went  there  to  visit  Mr.  Savary,  who 


198  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

had  been  very  intimately  acquainted  with  my  father,  and 
by  his  invitation  I  left  my  inn  and  went  to  lodge  at  his 
house.38  Mr.  Savary  is  one  of  the  greatest  proprietors 
in  that  part  of  the  country ;  he  possesses  more  than  eighty 
thousand  acres  of  land  in  Virginia,  Tenessea  and  Ken- 
tucky. The  taxes  that  he  pays,  although  moderate,  are 
notwithstanding  very  burthensome  to  him;  more  so,  as 
it  is  with  the  greatest  difficulty  he  can  find  purchasers  for 
his  land,  as  the  emigrations  of  the  eastern  states,  hav- 
ing taken  a  different  direction,  incline  but  very  feebly 
towards  Kentucky. 

Near  Millesburgh  flows  a  little  river,  from  five  to 
six  fathoms  broad,  upon  which  two  saw-mills  are  erected. 
The  stream  was  then  so  low  that  I  crossed  it  upon  large 
chalky  stones,  which  comprised  a  part  of  its  bottom,  and 
which  at  that  time  were  above  water.  In  winter  time,  on 
the  contrary,  it  swells  to  such  a  degree  that  it  can  scarcely 
be  passed  by  means  of  a  bridge  twenty-five  feet  in  height. 
The  bridges  thrown  over  the  small  rivers,  or  creeks,  that 
are  met  with  frequently  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  more 
especially  in  the  eastern  states,  are  all  formed  of  the  [121] 
trunks  of  trees  placed  transversely  by  each  other.  These 
bridges  have  no  railings;  and  whenever  a  person  travels 
on  horseback,  it  is  always  prudent  to  alight  in  order  to 
cross  them. 

On  this  side  Lexinton  we  passed  through  Paris,  a 
manor-house  for  the  county  of  Bourbon.  This  small 
town,  in  the  year  1796,  consisted  of  no  more  than  eigh- 

38  May's  Lick  was  named  for  John  May  of  Virginia,  its  original  owner, 
who  was  killed  by  Indians  when  descending  the  Ohio  in  1 790. 

Millersburg  was  settled  by  John  Miller  about  1784,  on  lands  that  he  had 
located  in  1775  on  Hinkston  Creek,  in  Bourbon  County.  It  is  still  a  small 
town  and  the  present  seat  of  Kentucky  Wesleyan  University,  founded  in  1817. 

Henry  Savary  was  an  enterprising  Frenchman  who  kept  one  of  the  first 
stores  in  Millersburg. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  199 

teen  houses,  and  now  contains  more  than  a  hundred  and 
fifty,  half  of  which  are  brick.  It  is  situated  on  a  de- 
lightful plain,  and  watered  by  a  small  river,  near  which 
are  several  corn  mills.  Every  thing  seems  to  announce 
the  comfort  of  its  inhabitants.  Seven  or  eight  were 
drinking  whiskey  at  a  respectable  inn  where  I  stopped 
to  refresh  myself  on  account  of  the  excessive  heat.  After 
having  replied  to  different  questions  which  they  asked  me 
concerning  the  intent  of  my  journey,  one  of  them  in- 
vited me  to  dine  with  him,  wishing  to  introduce  me  to 
one  of  my  fellow-countrymen  arrived  lately  from  Bengal. 
I  yielded  to  his  entreaties,  and  actually  found  a  French- 
man who  had  left  Calcutta  to  go  and  reside  at  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  settled  at  Paris,  where  he  exercised  the 
profession  of  a  school-master. 

[122]  CHAP.  XIV 

Lexinton. —  Manufactories  established  there. —  Commerce. 

—  Dr.  Samuel  Brown 

Lexinton,  the  manor-house  for  the  county  of  Fayette, 
is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  flat  soil  of  about  three  hun- 
dred acres,  like  the  rest  of  the  small  towns  of  the  United 
States  that  are  not  upon  the  borders  of  the  sea.  This 
town  is  traced  upon  a  regular  plan,  and  its  streets,  suffi- 
ciently broad,  cut  each  other  at  right  angles.  The  want  of 
pavement  renders  it  very  muddy  in  winter  time,  and  rainy 
weather.  The  houses,  most  of  which  are  brick,  are  dis- 
seminated upon  an  extent  of  eighty  or  a  hundred  acres, 
except  those  which  form  the  main  street,  where  they  are 
contiguous  to  each  other.  This  town,  founded  in  1780, 
is  the  oldest  and  most  wealthy  of  the  three  new  western 
states;  it  contains  about  three  thousand  inhabitants. 
Frankfort,  the  seat  of  government  in  Kentucky,  which  is 


200  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

upwards  of  twenty  [123]  miles  distant  from  it,  is  not  so 
populous.39  We  may  attribute  the  rapid  increase  o 
Lexinton  to  its  situation  in  the  centre  of  one  of  the  most 
fertile  parts  of  the  country,  comprised  in  a  kind  of  semi- 
circle, formed  by  the  Kentucky  river. 

There  are  two  printing-offices  at  Lexinton,  in  each  of 
which  a  newspaper  is  published  twice  a  week.  Part  of 
the  paper  is  manufactured  in  the  country,  and  is  dearer 
by  one-third  than  in  France.40  That  which  they  use  for 
writing,  originally  imported  from  England,  comes  by  the 
way  of  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore.  Two  extensive  rope 
walks,  constantly  in  employ,  supply  the  ships  with  rigging 
that  are  built  upon  the  Ohio.  On  the  borders  of  the  little 
river  that  runs  very  near  the  town  several  tan-yards  are 
established  that  supply  the  wants  of  the  inhabitants.  I 
observed  at  the  gates  of  these  tan-yards  strong  leathers  of 
a  yellowish  cast,  tanned  with  the  black  oak;  in  conse- 
quence of  which  I  saw  that  this  tree  grew  in  Kentucky, 
although  I  had  not  observed  it  between  Limestone  and 
Lexinton;  in  fact,  I  had  seen  nothing  but  land  either 
parched  up  or  extremely  fertile;  and,  as  I  have  since  ob- 
served, this  tree  grows  in  neither,  it  is  an  inhabitant  of  the 
mountainous  parts,  where  the  soil  is  gravelly  and  rather 
moist. 

[124]  The  want  of  hands  excites  the  industry  of  the 
inhabitants  of  this  country.  When  I  was  at  Lexinton 
one  of  them  had  just  obtained  a  patent  for  a  nail  machine, 

39  The  name  of  Kentucky's  capital  is  said  to  be  taken  from  that  of  a  pioneer, 
Stephen  Frank,  who  was  killed  on  this  spot  in  1780.  The  site  was  first  sur- 
veyed in  1773  for  the  McAfees,  but  the  place  was  not  incorporated  until  1786. 
It  was  made  the  seat  of  government  in  1793. —  Ed. 

40  The  first  two  newspapers  were  the  Kentucke  Gazette,  founded  by  John 
Bradford  in  1787  —  the  pioneer  paper  of  the  West;  and  the  Kentucky  Herald, 
founded  by  James  H.  Stewart  in  1795.  See  Perrin,  "Pioneer  Press  of  Ken- 
tucky," in  Filson  Club  Publications  (Louisville,  1887),  No.  3. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  201 

more  complete  and  expeditious  than  the  one  made  use 
of  in  the  prisons  at  New  York  and  Philadelphia;  and  a 
second  announced  one  for  the  grinding  and  cleaning  of 
hemp  and  sawing  wood  and  stones.  This  machine, 
moved  by  a  horse  or  a  current  of  water,  is  capable,  ac- 
cording to  what  the  inventor  said,  to  break  and  clean 
eight  thousand  weight  of  hemp  per  day. 

The  articles  manufactured  at  Lexinton  are  very  passa- 
ble, and  the  speculators  are  ever  said  to  make  rapid  for- 
tunes, notwithstanding  the  extreme  scarcity  of  hands. 
This  scarcity  proceeds  from  the  inhabitants  giving  so 
decided  a  preference  to  agriculture,  that  there  are  very 
few  of  them  who  put  their  children  to  any  trade,  wanting 
their  services  in  the  field.  The  following  comparison  will 
more  clearly  prove  this  scarcity  of  artificers  in  the  western 
states:  At  Charleston  in  Carolina,  and  at  Savannah  in 
Georgia,  a  cabinet-maker,  carpenter,  mason,  tinman, 
tailor,  shoemaker,  &c.  earns  two  piastres  a  day,  and  can- 
not live  for  less  than  six  per  week;  at  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  he  has  but  one  piaster,  and  it  [125]  costs 
him  four  per  week.  At  Marietta,  Lexinton  and  Nashe- 
ville,  in  Tenessea,  these  workmen  earn  from  one  piaster 
to  one  and  a  half  a  day,  and  can  subsist  a  week  with  the 
produce  of  one  day's  labour.  Another  example  may  tend 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  low  price  of  provisions  in  the  western 
states.  The  boarding-house,  where  I  lived  during  my 
stay  at  Lexinton,  passes  for  one  of  the  best  in  the  town, 
and  we  were  profusely  served  at  the  rate  of  two  piastres 
per  week.  I  am  informed  that  living  is  equally  cheap  in 
the  states  of  New  England,  which  comprise  Connecticut, 
Massachusets,  and  New  Hampshire;  but  the  price  of 
labour  is  not  so  high,  and  therefore  more  proportionate 
to  the  price  of  provisions. 


202  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Independent  of  those  manufactories  which  are  estab- 
lished in  Lexinton,  there  are  several  common  potteries, 
and  one  or  two  powder-mills,  the  produce  of  which  is  con- 
sumed in  the  country  or  exported  to  Upper  Carolina  and 
Low  Louisiana.  The  sulphur  is  obtained  from  Philadel- 
phia and  the  saltpetre  is  manufactured  in  the  country; 
the  materials  are  extracted  from  the  grottos,  or  caverns, 
that  are  found  on  the  declivity  of  lofty  hills  in  the  most 
mountainous  part  of  the  state.  The  soil  there  is  ex- 
tremely rich  in  nitrous  particles,  which  is  evidently  due 
to  [126]  the  chalky  rock,  at  the  expense  of  which  all  these 
excavations  are  formed,  as  well  as  for  vegetable  sub- 
stances, which  are  casually  thrust  into  their  interior. 
This  appears  to  demonstrate  that  the  assimilation  of 
animal  matters  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  even  in  the 
formation  of  artificial  nitrous  veins,  to  produce  a  higher 
degree  of  nitrification.  Saltpetre  of  the  first  preparation 
is  sold  at  about  sixpence  halfpenny  per  pound.  Among 
the  various  samples  I  have  seen,  I  never  observed  the 
least  appearance  of  marine  salt.  The  process  that  is 
used  is  as  defective  as  their  preparation  of  salt;  I  only 
speak  relative  to  the  extraction  of  the  saltpetre,  not  hav- 
ing seen  the  powder-mills.  I  shall  conclude  by  observing* 
that  it  is  only  in  Kentucky  and  Tenessea  that  saltpetre 
is  manufactured,  and  not  in  the  Atlantic  States. 

The  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lexinton  trade  with 
Kentucky;41  they  receive  their  merchandize  from  Phila- 
delphia and  Baltimore  in  thirty-five  or  forty  days,  includ- 
ing the  journey  of  two  days  and  a  half  from  Limestone, 
where  they  land  all  the  goods  destined  for  Kentucky. 
The  price  of  carriage  is  from  seven  to  eight  piastres  per 

a  This  is  a  mistranslation;  it  should  be,  "the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Kentucky  trade  with  Lexington  merchants." —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  203 

hundred  weight.  Seven-tenths  of  the  manufactured  arti- 
cles consumed  in  Kentucky,  as  well  as  in  the  other  parts 
of  the  [127]  United  States,  are  imported  from  England; 
they  consist  chiefly  in  coarse  and  fine  jewellery,  cutlery, 
ironmongery,  and  tin  ware;  in  short,  drapery,  mercery, 
drugs,  and  fine  earthenware,  muslins,  nankeens,  tea, 
&c.  are  imported  directly  from  India  to  the  United  States 
by  the  American  vessels;  and  they  get  from  the  Carrib- 
bees  coffee,  and  various  kinds  of  raw  sugar,  as  none  but 
the  poorer  class  of  the  inhabitants  make  use  of  maple 
sugar. 

The  French  goods  that  are  sent  into  this  part  of  the 
country  are  reduced  to  a  few  articles  in  the  silk  line,  such 
as  taffetas,  silk  stockings,  &c.  also  brandies  and  mill- 
stones, notwithstanding  their  enormous  weight,  and  the 
distance  from  the  sea  ports. 

From  Lexinton  the  different  kinds  of  merchandize 
are  despatched  into  the  interior  of  the  state,  and  the 
overplus  is  sent  by  land  into  Tenessea.  It  is  an  easy 
thing  for  merchants  to  make  their  fortunes;  in  the  first 
place,  they  usually  have  a  twelvemonth's  credit  from  the 
houses  at  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  and  in  the  next, 
as  there  are  so  few,  they  are  always  able  to  fix  in  their 
favour  the  course  of  colonial  produce,  which  they  take 
in  exchange  for  their  goods:  as,  through  the  extreme 
scarcity  of  specie,  most  of  these  transactions  are  done  by 
way  of  barter;  the  merchants,  [128]  however,  use  every 
exertion  in  their  power  to  get  into  their  possession  the 
little  specie  in  circulation;  it  is  only  particular  articles 
that  are  sold  for  money,  or  in  exchange  for  produce  the 
sale  of  which  is  always  certain,  such  as  the  linen  of  the 
country,  or  hemp.  Payments  in  money  always  bear  a 
difference  of  fifteen  or  twenty  per  cent  to  the  merchant's 


204  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

profits.  All  the  specie  collected  in  the  course  of  trade  is 
sent  by  land  to  Philadelphia;  I  have  seen  convoys  of  this 
kind  that  consisted  of  fifteen  or  twenty  horses.42  The 
trouble  of  conveyance  is  so  great  that  they  give  the  prefer- 
ence to  Bank  bills  of  the  United  States,  which  bear  a  dis- 
count of  two  per  cent.  The  merchants  in  all  parts  take 
them,  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  will  not,  through 
fear  of  their  being  forged.  I  must  again  remark,  that 
there  is  not  a  single  species  of  colonial  produce  in  Ken- 
tucky, except  gensing,  that  will  bear  the  expense  of  car- 
riage by  land  from  that  state  to  Philadelphia;  as  it  is 
demonstrated  that  twenty-five  pounds  weight  [129]  would 
cost  more  expediting  that  way,  even  going  up  the  Ohio, 
than  a  thousand  by  that  river,  without  reckoning  the 
passage  by  sea,  although  we  have  had  repeated  examples 
that  the  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  Philadelphia  or 
New  York  is  sometimes  as  long  as  that  from  France  to 
the  United  States. 

The  current  coin  in  the  states  of  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessea  has  the  same  divisions  as  in  Virginia.  They 
reckon  six  shillings  to  the  dollar  or  piastre.  The  hundreds 
which  nearly  correspond  with  our  halfpence,  although 
having  a  forced  currency,  do  not  appear  in  circulation. 
The  quarters,  eighths,  and  sixteenths  of  a  piastre  form  the 
small  white  money.  As  it  is  extremely  scarce,  it  is  sup- 
plied by  a  very  indifferent  method,  but  which  appears 
necessary,  and  consists  in  cutting  the  dollars  into  pieces. 
As  every  body  is  entitled  to  make  this  division,  there  are 
people  who  do  it  for  the  sake  of  gain;  at  the  same  time 
in  the  retail  trade  the  seller  will  generally  abate  in  his 

42  The  distance  from  Lexinton  to  Philadelphia,  by  way  of  Pennsylvania, 
is  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Those  who  have  occasion  to  go  there  on 
business,  generally  set  out  in  autumn,  and  take  three  weeks  or  a  month  to  per- 
form the  journey. —  F.  A.  Michaux. 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic /mux's  Travels  205 

articles  for  a  whole  dollar,  than  have  their  full  worth 
in  six  or  eight  pieces. 

I  have  heard  from  several  persons  very  well  informed, 
that  during  the  last  war,  corn  being  kept  up  at  an  exorbi- 
tant rate,  it  was  computed  that  the  exportations  from 
Kentucky  had  balanced  the  price  [130]  of  the  importa- 
tions of  English  goods  from  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore, 
by  the  way  of  the  Ohio :  but  since  the  peace,  the  demand 
for  flour  and  salt  provisions  having  ceased  in  the  Carib- 
bees,  corn  has  fallen  considerably;  so  that  the  balance  of 
trade  is  wholly  unfavourable  to  the  country. 

During  my  stay  at  Lexinton  I  frequently  saw  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Brown,  from  Virginia,  a  physician  of  the  college  of 
Edinburgh,  and  member  of  the  Philosophical  Society,  to 
whom  several  members  of  that  society  had  given  me  letters 
of  recommendation.  A  merited  reputation  undeniably 
places  Dr.  S.  Brown  in  the  first  rank  of  physicians  set- 
tled in  that  part  of  the  country.  Receiving  regularly  the 
scientific  journals  from  London,  he  is  always  in  the  chan- 
nel of  new  discoveries,  and  turns  them  to  the  advantage 
of  his  fellow-citizens.  It  is  to  him  that  they  are  indebted 
for  the  introduction  of  the  cow-pox.  He  had  at  that 
time  inoculated  upward  of  five  hundred  persons  in  Ken- 
tucky, when  they  were  making  their  first  attempts  in  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Brown  also  employs  him- 
self in  collecting  fossils  and  other  natural  productions, 
which  abound  in  this  interesting  country.  I  have  seen 
at  his  house  several  relics  of  very  large  unknown  fish, 
caught  in  the  [131]  Kentucky  River,  and  which  were 
remarkable  for  their  singular  forms.  The  analysis  of 
the  mineral  waters  at  Mud-Lick  was  to  employ  the  first 
leisure  time  he  had.  These  waters  are  about  sixty  miles 
from  Lexinton;  they  are  held  in  great  esteem,  and  the 


206  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

most  distinguished  personages  in  the  country  were  drink- 
ing them  when  I  was  in  the  town.  The  Philosophical 
Transactions  and  the  Monthly  Review,  published  at 
New  York  by  Dr.  Mitchel,  are  the  periodical  works  where- 
in Dr.  Brown  inserts  the  fruit  of  his  observation  and  re- 
search.43 

I  had  also  the  pleasure  of  forming  an  acquaintance 
with  several  French  gentlemen  settled  in  that  part  of 
the  country:  Mr.  Robert,  to  whom  I  was  recommended 
by  Mr.  Marbois,  jun.  then  in  the  United  States;  and 
Messrs.  Duhamel  and  Mentelle,  sons  of  the  members 
of  the  National  Institution  of  the  same  name.  The 
two  latter  are  settled  in  the  environs  of  Lexinton;  the 
first  as  a  physician,  and  the  second  as  a  farmer.  I 
received  from  them  that  marked  attention  and  respect  so 
pleasing  to  a  foreigner  at  a  distance  from  his  country  and 
his  friends;  in  consequence  of  which  I  now  feel  myself 
happy  in  having  this  means  of  publicly  expressing  my 
warmest  gratitude. 

[132]  CHAP.  XV 
Departure  from  Lexinton. —  Culture  of  the  vine  at  Ken- 
tucky.—  Passage  over  the  Kentucky  and  Dick  Rivers. — 
Departure    for   Nasheville. —  Mulder    Hill. —  Passage 
over  Green  River. 

I  set  out  on  the  10th  of  August  from  Lexinton  to  Nashe- 
ville, in  the  state  of  Tennessea;  and  as  the  establishment 
formed  to   naturalize   the  vine  in  Kentucky  was  but  a 

43  Dr.  Samuel  Brown  was  a  younger  brother  of  John  Brown,  first  delegate 
from  Kentucky  to  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1769, 
educated  at  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  and  took  a  medical  course  at  Edinburgh. 
One  of  the  first  physicians  of  Kentucky,  he  was  professor  of  medicine  in 
Transylvania  College,  1799 -1806,  and  again  in  181 9.  He  later  removed  to 
Huntsville,  Alabama,  where  he  died  in  1830. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  207 

few  miles  out  of  my  road,  I  resolved  to  go  and  see  it. 
There  is  no  American  but  what  takes  the  warmest  in- 
terest in  attempts  of  that  kind,  and  several  persons  in 
the  Atlantic  states  had  spoken  to  me  of  the  success  which 
had  crowned  this  undertaking.  French  wines  being  one 
of  the  principal  articles  of  our  commerce  with  the  United 
States,  I  wished  to  be  satisfied  respecting  the  degree  of 
prosperity  which  this  establishment  might  have  ac- 
quired. [133]  In  the  mean  time,  from  the  indifferent  man- 
ner which  I  had  heard  it  spoken  of  in  the  country  I  sus- 
pected beforehand  that  the  first  attempts  had  not  been 
very  fortunate. 

About  fourteen  miles  from  Lexinton  I  quitted  the 
Hickman  Ferry  road,  turned  on  my  left,  and  strolled 
into  the  woods,  so  that  I  did  not  reach  the  vineyard  till 
the  evening,  when  I  was  handsomely  received  by  Mr. 
Dufour,  who  superintends  the  business.  He  gave  me  an 
invitation  to  sleep,  and  spend  the  following  day  with  him, 
which  I  accepted. 

There  reigns  in  the  United  States  a  public  spirit  that 
makes  them  greedily  seize  hold  of  every  plan  that  tends 
to  enrich  the  country  by  agriculture  and  commerce. 
That  of  rearing  the  vine  in  Kentucky  was  eagerly  em- 
braced. Several  individuals  united  together,  and  formed 
a  society  to  put  it  in  execution,  and  it  was  decreed  that  a 
fund  should  be  established  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  divided 
into  two  hundred  shares  of  fifty  dollars  each.  This 
fund  was  very  soon  accomplished.  Mr.  Dufour,  the 
chief  of  a  small  Swiss  colony  which  seven  or  eight  years 
before  had  settled  in  Kentucky,  and  who  had  proposed 
this  undertaking,  was  deputed  to  search  for  a  proper 
soil,  to  procure  vine  plants,  and  to  do  every  thing  he 
[134]  might  think  necessary  to  insure  success.     The  spot 


208  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

that  he  has  chosen  and  cleared  is  on  the  Kentucky  river, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Lexinton.  The  soil  is  excellent 
and  the  vineyard  is  planted  upon  the  declivity  of  a  hill 
exposed  to  the  south,  and  the  base  of  which  is  about  two 
hundred  fathoms  from  the  river. 

Mr.  Dufour  intended  to  go  to  France  to  procure  the 
vine  plants,  and  with  that  idea  went  to  New  York;  but 
the  war,  or  other  causes  that  I  know  not,  prevented 
his  setting  out,  and  he  contented  himself  with  collecting, 
in  this  town  and  Philadelphia,  slips  of  every  species  that 
he  could  find  in  the  possession  of  individuals  that  had 
them  in  their  gardens.  After  unremitted  labour  he  made 
a  collection  of  twenty-five  different  sorts,  which  he 
brought  to  Kentucky,  where  he  employed  himself  in  cul- 
tivating them.  However  the  success  did  not  answer  the 
expectation;  only  four  or  five  various  kinds  survived, 
among  which  were  those  that  he  had  described  by  the 
name  of  Burgundy  and  Madeira,  but  the  former  is  far 
from  being  healthy.  The  grape  generally  decays  before 
it  is  ripe.  When  I  saw  them  the  bunches  were  thin  and 
poor,  the  berries  small,  and  every  thing  announced  that 
the  vintage  of  1802  would  not  be  more  [135]  abundant 
than  that  of  the  preceding  years.  The  Madeira  vines 
appeared,  on  the  contrary,  to  give  some  hopes.  Out 
of  a  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred,  there  was  a  third 
loaded  with  very  fine  bunches.  The  whole  of  these  vines 
do  not  occupy  a  space  of  more  than  six  acres.  They  are 
planted  and  fixed  with  props  similar  to  those  in  the  en- 
virons of  Paris. 

Such  was  then  the  situation  of  this  establishment,  in 
which  the  stockholders  concerned  themselves  but  very 
little.  It  was  again  about  to  experience  another  check 
by  the  division  of  Mr.  Dufour's  family,  one  part  of  which 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  209 

was  on  the  point  of  setting  out  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
there  to  form  a  settlement.  These  particulars  are  suffi- 
cient to  give,  on  the  pretended  flourishing  state  of  the 
vines  in  Kentucky,  an  idea  very  different  to  that  which 
might  be  formed  from  the  pompous  account  of  them 
which  appeared  some  months  since  in  our  public 
papers. 

I  profited  by  my  stay  with  Mr.  Dufour,  to  ask  him 
in  what  part  of  Kentucky  the  numerous  emigration  of 
his  countrymen  had  settled,  which  had  been  so  much 
spoken  of  in  our  newspapers  in  1793  and  1794-  His 
reply  was,  that  a  great  number  of  the  Swiss  had  actually 
formed  an  intention  to  settle  there;  but  [136]  just  as 
they  were  setting  out,  the  major  part  had  changed  their 
mind,  and  that  the  colony  was  then  reduced  to  his  family 
and  a  few  friends,  forming,  in  the  whole,  eleven  persons. 

I  did  not  set  out  from  the  vineyard  till  tne  second  day 
after  my  arrival.  Mr.  Dufour  offered,  in  order  to  short- 
en my  journey,  to  conduct  me  through  the  wood  where 
they  cross  the  Kentucky  river.  I  accepted  his  proposal, 
and  although  the  distance  was  only  four  miles  we  took 
two  hours  to  accomplish  it,  as  we  were  obliged  to  alight 
either  to  climb  up  or  descend  the  mountains,  or  to  leap 
our  horses  over  the  trunks  of  old  trees  piled  one  upon 
another.  The  soil,  as  fertile  as  in  the  environs  of  Lexin- 
ton,  will  be  difficult  to  cultivate,  on  account  of  the  great 
inequality  of  the  ground.  Beech,  nut,  and  oak  trees, 
form  chiefly  the  mass  of  the  forests.  We  crossed,  in  the 
mean  time,  the  shallows  of  the  river,  covered  exclusively 
with  beautiful  palms.  A  great  number  of  people  in  the 
country  dread  the  proximity  of  these  palms;  they  con- 
ceive that  the  down  which  grows  on  the  reverse  of  the 
leaves,  in  spring,  and  which  falls  off  in  the  course  of  the 


2 1  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

summer,  brings  on  consumptions,  by  producing  an 
irritation  of  the  lungs,  almost  insensible,  but  continued. 

[137]  In  this  season  of  the  year  the  Kentucky  River 
is  so  low  at  Hickman  Ferry  that  a  person  may  ford  it  with 
the  greatest  ease. 

I  stopped  a  few  minutes  at  the  inn  where  the  ferry-boat 
plies  when  the  water  is  high,  and  while  they  were  giving 
my  horse  some  corn  I  went  on  the  banks  of  the  river  to 
survey  it  more  attentively.  Its  borders  are  formed  by  an 
enormous  mass  of  chalky  stones,  remarkably  peaked, 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  which  bear, 
from  the  bottom  to  the  top,  evident  traces  of  the  action 
of  the  waters,  which  have  washed  them  away  in  several 
parts.  A  broad  and  long  street,  where  the  houses  are 
arranged  in  a  right  line,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  channel 
of  this  river  at  Hickman  Ferry.  It  swells  amazingly  in 
spring  and  autumn,  and  its  waters  rise  at  that  time,  in  a 
few  days,  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet. 

I  met,  at  this  inn,  an  inhabitant  of  the  country  who 
lived  about  sixty  miles  farther  up.  This  gentleman, 
with  whom  I  entered  into  conversation,  and  who  appeared 
to  me  to  enjoy  a  comfortable  existence,  gave  me  strong 
invitations  to  pass  a  week  with  him  at  his  house;  and  as 
he  supposed  that  I  was  in  quest  of  a  spot  to  form  a  settle- 
ment, which  is  usually  the  intention  of  those  who  go  to 
Kentucky,  he  offered  [138]  his  services  to  shew  me  a 
healthy  soil,  wishing  very  much,  he  said,  to  have  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  old  country  for  a  neighbour.  It  has  often 
happened  to  me,  in  this  state  as  well  as  in  that  of  Ten- 
nessea,  to  refuse  similar  propositions  by  strangers  whom 
I  met  at  the  inns  or  at  the  houses  where  I  asked  a  lodg- 
ing, and  who  invited  me,  after  that,  to  spend  a  few  days 
in  their  family. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  211 

About  a  mile  from  Kentucky  I  left  the  Danville  road, 
and  took  that  of  Harrod's  Burgh,44  to  go  to  General 
Adair,45  to  whom  Dr.  Ramsey  of  Charleston  had  given 
me  a  letter  of  recommendation.  I  arrived  at  his  house 
the  same  day.  I  crossed  Dick's  River,  which  is  not  half 
so  broad  as  the  Kentucky,  but  is  extremely  pleasant  at 
this  season  of  the  year.  Its  bed  is  uniformly  hollowed 
out  by  nature,  and  seems  cased  with  stone.  Part  of  the 
right  bank,  opposite  to  the  place  where  they  land,  dis- 
covers a  beautiful  rock  of  a  chalky  substance,  more  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height.  The  stratum  forms 
one  continued  mass,  which  does  not  present  the  smallest 
interval,  and  which  is  only  distinguished  by  zones  and 
parallels  of  a  bluish  cast,  the  colour  of  which  contrasts 
with  the  whiteness  of  the  towering  pile.  On  leaving  its 
summit,  numerous  furrows,  hollowed  [139]  in  the  rock, 
very  near  together,  and  which  seem  to  run  ad  infinitum, 
are  seen  at  different  heights.  These  furrows  have  visibly 
been  formed  by  the  current  of  the  river,  which  at  distant 
epochs  had  its  bed  at  these  various  levels.  Dick's  River, 
like  the  Kentucky,  experiences,  in  the  spring,  an  extra- 
ordinary increase  of  water.     The  stratum  of  vegetable 

44  Harrodsburg,  seat  of  Mercer  County,  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  state,  the 
first  cabin  being  built  there  by  James  Harrod  in  1774,  and  the  fort  in  1775. 
In  June,  1776,  a  convention  was  held  at  this  place,  which  chose  George  Rogers 
Clark  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia  legislature.  He  secured  the  appointment  of  Har- 
rodsburg as  county  town  for  the  newly-erected  Kentucky  County.  Until  about 
1785,  therefore,  Harrodsburg  was  the  seat  of  government,  but  it  declined  in 
importance  before  its  neighbor  Danville. —  Ed. 

*5  General  John  Adair  was  a  South  Carolinian  who,  after  distinguished 
Revolutionary  services,  emigrated  to  Kentucky  about  1786,  and  settled  in  Mer- 
cer County.  He  was  a  leader  of  Kentucky  volunteers  in  St.  Clair's  campaign 
(1791);  and  served  with  distinction  in  the  War  of  1812-15,  commanding  the 
Kentucky  detachment  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  From  1820-24,  he  was 
governor  of  the  state,  and  was  a  Kentucky  member  of  both  the  national  House 
of  Representatives  and  the  Senate,  dying  in  1840  at  his  Kentucky  home. —  Ed. 


212  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

earth  which  covers  the  rock  does  not  appear  to  be  more 
than  two  or  three  feet  thick.  Virginia  cedars  are  very 
common  there.  This  tree,  which  is  fond  of  lofty  places 
where  the  chalky  substance  is  very  near  to  the  superficies 
of  the  soil,  thrives  very  well;  but  other  trees,  such  as  the 
black  oak,  the  hickery,  &c.  are  stinted,  and  assume  a 
miserable  appearance. 

General  Adair  was  absent  when  I  arrived  at  his  planta- 
tion. His  lady  received  me  in  the  most  obliging  manner, 
and  for  five  or  six  days  that  I  staid  with  her  I  received 
every  mark  of  attention  and  hospitality,  as  though  I  had 
been  intimately  acquainted  with  the  family. 

A  spacious  and  commodious  house,  a  number  of  black 
servants,  equipages,  every  thing  announced  the  opulence 
of  the  General,  which  it  is  well  known  is  not  always, 
in  America,  the  appendage  of  those  honoured  with  that 
title.  His  plantation  is  situated  [140]  near  Harrods- 
burgh  in  the  county  of  Mercer.  Magnificent  peach  or- 
chards, immense  fields  of  Indian  wheat,  surround  the 
house.  The  soil  there  is  extremely  fertile,  which  shews 
itself  by  the  largeness  of  the  blades  of  corn,  their  ex- 
traordinary height,  and  the  abundance  of  the  crops,  that 
yield  annually  thirty  or  forty  hundred  weight  of  corn  per 
acre.  The  mass  of  the  surrounding  forests  is  composed 
of  those  species  of  trees  that  are  found  in  the  better  sort 
of  land,  such  as  the  gleditia  acanthus,  guilandina  dioica, 
ulmus  viscosa,  morus-rubra,  corylus,  annona  triloba.  In 
short,  for  several  miles  round  the  surface  of  the  ground 
is  flat,  which  is  very  rare  in  that  country. 

As  I  could  not  defer  my  travels  any  longer,  I  did  not 
accept  of  Mrs.  Adair's  invitation,  who  entreated  me  to 
stay  till  her  husband's  return;  and  on  the  20th  of  August 


r8o2]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  2 1  3 

I  set  out  in  order  to  continue  my  route  toward  Nashe- 
ville,  very  much  regretting  not  having  had  it  in  my  power 
to  form  an  acquaintance  with  the  General. 

My  first  day's  journey  was  upward  of  twenty  miles, 
and  in  the  evening  I  put  up  at  the  house  of  one  Hays, 
who  keeps  a  kind  of  inn  about  fifty  miles  from  Lexinton. 
Harrodsburgh,  which  I  passed  [141]  through  that  day, 
at  present  consists  only  of  about  twenty  houses,  irregularly 
scattered,  and  built  of  wood.  Twelve  miles  farther  I 
regained,  at  Chaplain  Fork,  the  road  to  Danville.  In 
this  space,  which  is  uninhabited,  the  soil  is  excellent,  but 
very  unequal. 

The  second  day  I  went  nearly  thirty  miles,  and  stopped 
at  an  inn  kept  by  a  person  of  the  name  of  Skeggs.  Ten 
miles  on  this  side  is  Mulder-Hill,  a  steep  and  lofty  moun- 
tain that  forms  a  kind  of  amphitheatre.  From  its  sum- 
mit the  neighbouring  country  presents  the  aspect  of  an 
immense  valley,  covered  with  forests  of  an  imperceptible 
extent,  whence,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  nothing  but 
a  gloomy  verdant  space  is  seen,  formed  by  the  tops  of  the 
close-connected  trees,  and  through  which  not  the  vestige 
of  a  plantation  can  be  discerned.  The  profound  silence 
that  reigns  in  these  woods,  uninhabited  by  wild  beasts, 
and  the  security  of  the  place,  forms  an  ensemble  rarely 
to  be  met  with  in  other  countries.  At  the  summit  of 
Mulder-Hill  the  road  divides,  to  unite  again  a  few  miles 
farther  on.  I  took  the  left,  and  the  first  plantation  that 
I  reached  was  that  of  Mr.  Macmahon,  formerly  professor 
of  a  college  in  Virginia,  who  came  very  lately  to  reside  in 
this  part  of  the  country,  where  he  officiates  as  a  clergy- 
man. 

[142]  Skeggs' s  inn,  where  I  stopped  after  having  left 


2  j  4  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Mulder-Hill,  was  the  worst  station  that  I  took  from 
Limestone  to  Nasheville.  It  was  destitute  of  every  kind 
of  provision,  and  I  was  obliged  to  sleep  on  the  floor, 
wrapped  up  in  my  rug,  without  having  been  able  to  pro- 
cure a  supper.  As  there  was  no  stable  in  this  plantation, 
I  turned  my  horse  into  a  peach  orchard  for  pasture. 
The  fences  that  inclosed  it  were  broken  down,  and  fear- 
ing he  would  escape  in  the  night,  I  put  a  bell  on  his  neck, 
such  as  travellers  carry  with  them  when  compelled  to 
sleep  in  the  woods.  The  peaches  at  that  time  were  in 
full  perfection,  and  I  perceived  that  my  horse  had  been 
feeding  on  them,  from  the  immense  quantity  of  kernels 
lying  under  three  or  four  trees.  This  was  very  easy  for 
him,  as  the  branches,  loaded  with  fruit,  hung  nearly  to 
the  ground. 

About  eight  miles  hence  I  forded  Green  River,  which 
flows  into  the  Ohio,  after  innumerable  windings,  and 
runs  through  a  narrow  valley  not  more  than  a  mile  in 
breadth.  At  the  place  where  I  crossed  it  it  had  not  three 
[feet  ?]  of  water  in  an  extent  from  fifteen  to  twenty  fathoms 
broad ;  but  in  the  spring,  the  only  epoch  when  it  is  naviga- 
ble, the  water  rises  about  eighteen  feet,  as  may  be  judged 
by  the  roots  of  the  [143]  trees  that  adorn  its  banks,  and 
which  are  stripped  naked  by  the  current.  Beyond  the 
river  we  regain  the  road,  which  for  the  space  of  two  miles 
serpentines  in  that  part  of  the  valley  which  is  on  the  left 
bank.  The  soil  of  these  shallows  is  marshy  and  very 
fruitful,  where  the  beech  tree,  among  others,  flourishes  in 
great  perfection.  Its  diameter  is  usually  in  proportion 
to  its  height,  and  its  massy  trunk  sometimes  rises  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  feet  from  the  earth  divested  of  a  single 
branch.  The  soil  occupied  by  these  trees  is  considered 
by  the  inhabitants  as  the  most  difficult  to  clear. 


180a]  F.  A.  Michaux' 's  Travels  2 1  5 

[144]  CHAP.  XVI 

Passage  over  the  Barrens,  or  Meadows. —  Plantations 
upon  the  Road. —  The  View  they  present. —  Plants  dis- 
covered there. —  Arrival  at  Nasheville. 

About  ten  miles  from  Green  River  flows  the  Little 
Barren,  a  small  river,  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  in  breadth; 
the  ground  in  the  environs  is  dry  and  barren,  and  pro- 
duces nothing  but  a  few  Virginia  cedars,  two-leaved 
pines,  and  black  oaks.  A  little  beyond  this  commence 
the  Barrens,  or  Kentucky  Meadows.  I  went  the  first 
day  thirteen  miles  across  these  meadows,  and  put  up  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Williamson,  near  Bears- Wallow. 

In  the  morning,  before  I  left  the  place,  I  wanted  to 
give  my  horse  some  water,  upon  which  my  host  directed 
me  to  a  spring  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  house, 
where  his  family  was  supplied;  I  wandered  [145]  about 
for  the  space  of  two  hours  in  search  of  this,  when  I  dis- 
covered a  plantation  in  a  low  and  narrow  valley,  where 
I  learnt  that  I  had  mistaken  the  path,  and  was  obliged 
to  return  to  the  place  from  whence  I  came.  The  mis- 
tress of  the  house  told  me  that  she  had  resided  in  the  Bar- 
rens upwards  of  three  years,  and  that  for  eighteen  months 
prior  to  my  going  there  she  had  not  seen  an  individual; 
that,  weary  of  living  thus  isolated,  her  husband  had  been 
more  than  two  months  from  home  in  quest  of  another 
spot,  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Such  was  the 
pretence  for  this  removal,  which  made  the  third  since 
the  family  left  Virginia.  A  daughter  about  fourteen 
years  of  age,  and  two  children  considerably  younger, 
were  all  the  company  she  had;  her  house,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  stocked  abundantly  with  vegetables  and  corn. 

This  part  of  the  Barrens  that  chance  occasioned  me 
to  stroll  over,  was  precisely  similar  to  that  I  had  traversed 


2 1 6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  day  before.  I  found  a  spring  in  a  cavity  of  an  orbic- 
ular form,  where  it  took  me  upwards  of  an  hour  to  get 
half  a  pail  of  water  for  my  horse.  The  time  that  I  had 
thus  employed,  that  which  I  had  lost  in  wandering 
about,  added  to  the  intense  heat,  obliged  [146]  me  to 
shorten  my  route:  in  consequence  of  which  I  put  up  at 
Dripping  Spring,  about  ten  miles  from  Bears-Wallow. 

On  the  following  day,  the  26th,  I  went  twenty-eight 
miles,  and  stopped  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Jacob  Kesly, 
belonging  to  the  Dunker  sect,  which  I  discovered  by 
his  long  beard.  About  ten  miles  from  Dripping  Spring 
I  forded  Big-Barren  River,  which  appeared  to  me  one 
third  broader  than  Green  River,  the  plantation  of  one 
Macfiddit,  who  plies  a  ferry-boat  when  the  waters  are 
high;  and  another,  belonging  to  one  Chapman.  About 
three  miles  farther  are  the  two  oldest  settlements  on  the 
road,  both  of  them  having  been  built  upwards  of  fourteen 
years.  When  I  was  at  this  place,  a  boat  laden  with  salt 
arrived  from  St.  Genevieve,  a  French  village  situated  upon 
the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  about  a  hundred  miles 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 

My  landlord's  house  was  as  miserably  furnished  as 
those  I  had  lodged  at  for  several  days  preceding,  and 
I  was  again  obliged  to  sleep  on  the  floor.  The  major 
part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  have  been  there  too 
short  a  time  to  make  any  great  improvements;  they  have 
a  very  indifferent  supply  of  any  thing  except  Indian  corn 
and  forage. 

[147]  On  the  27th  of  August  I  set  off  very  early  in  the 
morning;  and  about  thirteen  miles  from  Mr.  Kesley's  I 
crossed  the  line  that  separates  the  State  of  Tennessea 
from  that  of  Kentucky.     There  also  terminates  the  Bar- 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  217 

rens;  and  to  my  great  satisfaction  I  got  into  the  woods.49 
Nothing  can  be  more  tiresome  than  the  doleful  uniformity 
of  these  immense  meadows  where  there  is  nobody  to  be 
met  with ;  and  where,  except  a  great  number  of  partridges, 
we  neither  see  nor  hear  any  species  of  living  beings,  and 
are  still  more  isolated  than  in  the  middle  of  the  forests. 

The  first  plantation  that  I  reached  on  entering  Ten- 
nessea  belonged  to  a  person  of  the  name  of  Checks,  of 
whom  I  entertained  a  very  indifferent  opinion,  by  the 
conversation  that  he  was  holding  with  seven  or  eight  of 
his  neighbours,  with  whom  he  was  drinking  whiskey. 
Fearing  lest  I  should  witness  some  murdering  scene  or 
other,  which  among  the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the 
country  is  frequently  the  end  of  intoxication,  produced 
by  this  kind  of  spirits,  I  quickly  took  my  leave,  and  put 
up  at  an  inn  about  three  miles  farther  off,  where  I  found 
every  accommodation.  The  late  Duke  of  Orleans'  son 
lodged  at  this  house  a  few  years  before.47  On  the  [148] 
day  following  I  arrived  at  Nasheville,  after  having  trav- 
elled twenty-seven  miles. 

The  Barrens,  or  Kentucky  Meadows,  comprise  an  ex- 
tent from  sixty  to  seventy  miles  in  length,  by  sixty  miles 
in  breadth.  According  to  the  signification  of  this  word, 
I  conceived  I  should  have  had  to  cross  over  a  naked  space, 

48  Michaux  passed  from  General  Adair's,  through  Mercer  and  Marion 
counties,  and  over  the  range  of  Muldrow's  Hills,  which  until  about  1785  formed 
the  southern  boundary  of  Kentucky  settlement.  The  "barrens,"  lying  south 
and  west,  were  so  called  from  their  lack  of  trees.  The  road  led  through  Green, 
Barren,  and  Allen  counties,  and  entered  Tennessee  in  Sumner  County,  about 
forty  miles  northeast  of  Nashville. —  Ed. 

47  The  sons  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  Louis-Philippe  and  his  two  young 
brothers,  came  to  the  United  States  and  travelled  extensively  in  1797,  visiting 
the  Southern  and  Western  states,  the  Great  Lakes,  and  New  England.  Finally 
passing  through  the  Mississippi  Valley,  they  embarked  at  New  Orleans  for 
Europe. —  Ed. 


2 1 8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

sown  here  and  there  with  a  few  plants.  I  was  confirmed 
in  my  opinion  by  that  which  some  of  the  country  people 
had  given  me  of  these  meadows  before  I  reached  them. 
They  told  me  that  in  this  season  I  should  perish  with 
heat  and  thirst,  and  that  I  should  not  find  the  least  shade 
the  whole  of  the  way,  as  the  major  part  of  the  Americans 
who  live  in  the  woods  have  not  the  least  idea  that  there  is 
any  part  of  the  country  entirely  open,  and  still  less  that 
they  could  inhabit  it.  Instead  of  finding  a  country  as  it 
had  been  depicted  to  me,  I  was  agreeably  surprised  to  see 
a  beautiful  meadow,  where  the  grass  was  from  two  to 
three  feet  high.  Amidst  these  pasture  lands  I  discovered 
a  great  variety  of  plants,  among  which  were  the  gerardia 
flava,  or  gall  of  the  earth;  the  gnaphalium  dioicum,  or 
white  plantain;  and  the  rudbekia  purpurea.  I  observed 
that  the  roots  of  the  latter  plant  participated  in  some  de- 
gree with  the  sharp  taste  of  the  leaves  of  the  spilanthus 
[149]  oleracca.  When  I  crossed  these  meadows  the 
flower  season  was  over  with  three  parts  of  the  plants, 
but  the  time  for  most  of  the  seeds  to  ripen  was  still  at  a 
great  distance;  nevertheless  I  gathered  about  ninety 
different  species  of  them  which  I  took  with  me  to  France. 

In  some  parts  of  the  meadows  we  observed  several 
species  of  the  wild  vine,  and  in  particular  that  called  by 
the  inhabitants  summer  grapes,  the  bunches  are  as  large, 
and  the  grapes  of  as  good  a  quality  as  those  in  the  vine- 
yards round  Paris,  with  this  difference,  that  the  berries 
are  not  quite  so  close  together. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  attempts  which  have  been  made 
in  Kentucky  to  establish  the  culture  of  the  vine  would 
have  been  more  successful  in  the  Barrens,  the  soil  of 
which  appears  to  me  more  adapted  for  this  kind  of  cul- 
ture than  that  on  the  banks  of  the  Kentucky;  the  latter 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  219 

is  richer  it  is  true,  at  the  same  time  the  nature  of  the 
country,  and  the  proximity  of  the  forests  render  it  much 
damper.  This  was  also  my  father's  opinion;  he  thought 
that  [of]  the  different  parts  of  North  America  that  he  had 
travelled  through,  during  a  sojourn  of  twelve  years,  the 
States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessea,  and  particularly 
the  Barrens,  were  the  parts  in  which  the  vine  might  [150] 
be  cultivated  with  the  greatest  success.  His  opinion 
was  founded  in  a  great  measure  upon  the  certainty  that 
the  vegetable  stratum  in  the  above  states  lies  upon  a 
chalky  mass. 

The  Barrens  are  circumscribed  by  a  wood  about  three 
miles  broad,  which  in  some  parts  joins  to  surrounding 
forests.  The  trees  are  in  general  very  straggling,  and 
at  a  greater  distance  from  each  other  as  they  approach 
the  meadows.  On  the  side  of  Tennessea  this  border 
is  exclusively  composed  of  post  oaks,  or  quercus  oblusiloba, 
the  wood  of  which  being  very  hard,  and  not  liable  to  rot, 
is,  in  preference  to  any  other,  used  for  fences.  This  ser- 
viceable tree  would  be  easy  to  naturalize  in  France,  as  it 
grows  among  the  pines  in  the  worst  of  soil.  We  ob- 
served again,  here  and  there,  in  the  meadow,  several  black 
oaks,  or  quercus  nigra;  and  nut  trees,  or  juglans  hickery, 
which  rise  about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet.  Sometimes  they 
formed  small  arbours,  but  always  far  enough  apart  from 
each  other  so  as  not  to  intercept  the  surrounding  view. 
With  the  exception  of  small  willows,  about  two  feet 
high,  selix  longirostris,  and  a  few  shumacs,  there  is  not 
the  least  appearance  of  a  shrub.  The  surface  of  these 
meadows  is  generally  very  even ;  towards  Dripping  Spring 
I  observed  [151]  a  lofty  eminence,  slightly  adorned  with 
trees,  and  bestrewed  with  enormous  rocks,  which  hang 
jutting  over  the  main  road. 


220  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

It  appears  there  are  a  great  number  of  subterraneous 
caverns  in  the  Barrens,  some  of  which  are  very  near  the 
surface.  A  short  time  before  I  was  there,  several  pieces 
of  the  rocks  that  were  decayed,  fell  with  a  tremendous 
crash  into  the  road  near  Bears-Wallow,  as  a  traveller 
was  passing,  who,  by  the  greatest  miracle  escaped.  We 
may  easily  conceive  with  what  consequences  such  acci- 
dents must  be  attended  in  a  country  where  the  planta- 
tions are  so  distant  from  each  other,  and  where,  perhaps, 
a  traveller  does  not  pass  for  several  days. 

We  remarked  in  these  meadows  several  holes,  widened 
at  the  top  in  the  shape  of  funnels,  the  breadth  of  which 
varies  according  to  their  depth.  In  some  of  these  holes, 
about  five  or  six  feet  from  the  bottom,  flows  a  small  vein 
of  water,  which,  in  the  same  proportions  as  it  fills,  loses 
itself  through  another  part.  These  kind  of  springs  never 
fail;  in  consequence  of  which  several  of  the  inhabitants 
have  been  induced  to  settle  in  their  vicinity;  for,  except 
the  river  Big-Barren,  I  did  not  see  the  smallest  rivulet  or 
creek;  nor  did  I  hear  that  they  have  ever  attempted  to  dig 
[152]  wells;  but  were  they  to  make  the  essay,  I  have  no 
doubt  of  their  success.  According  to  the  observations 
we  have  just  made,  the  want  of  water,  and  wood  adapted 
to  make  fences,  will  be  long  an  obstacle  to  the  increase 
of  settlements  in  this  part  of  Kentucky.  Notwithstanding, 
one  of  these  two  inconveniences  might  be  obviated,  by 
changing  the  present  mode  of  enclosing  land,  and  sub- 
stituting hedges,  upon  which  the  gleditsia  triacanthos,  one 
of  the  most  common  trees  in  the  country,  might  be  used 
with  success.  The  Barrens  at  present  are  very  thinly 
populated,  considering  their  extent;  for  on  the  road  where 
the  plantations  are  closest  together  we  counted  but  eigh- 
teen in  a  space  of  sixty  or  seventy  miles. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  221 

Some  of  the  inhabitants  divide  land  of  the  Barrens  in 
Kentucky  into  three  classes,  according  to  its  uality. 
That  which  I  crossed,  where  the  soil  is  yellowsh  and 
rather  gravelly,  appeared  to  me  the  best  adapted  for  the 
culture  of  corn.  That  of  Indian  wheat  is  almost  the  only 
thing  to  which  the  inhabitants  apply  themselves;  but  as 
the  settlements  are  of  a  fresh  date,  the  land  has  not  been 
able  to  acquire  that  degree  of  prosperity  that  is  observed 
on  this  side  Mulder  Hill.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  who  go 
to  settle  in  the  country,  incline  upon  the  skirts,  or  along 
[153]  the  Little  and  Big  Barren  rivers,  where  they  are  at- 
tracted by  the  advantage  that  the  meadows  offer  as  pas- 
ture for  the  cattle,  an  advantage  which,  in  a  great  measure, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  most  fertile  districts  are  deprived  of, 
the  country  being  so  very  woody,  that  there  is  scarcely 
any  grass  land  to  be  seen. 

Every  year,  in  the  course  of  the  months  of  March  or 
April,  the  inhabitants  set  fire  to  the  grass,  which  at  that 
time  is  dried  up,  and  through  its  extreme  length,  would 
conceal  from  the  cattle  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  longer 
the  new  grass,  which  then  begins  to  spring  up.  This 
custom  is  nevertheless  generally  censured ;  as  being  set  on 
fire  too  early,  the  new  grass  is  stripped  of  the  covering  that 
ought  to  shelter  it  from  the  spring  and  frosts,  and  in 
consequence  of  which  its  vegetation  is  retarded.  The 
custom  of  burning  the  meadows  was  formerly  practised  by 
the  natives,  who  came  in  this  part  of  the  country  to  hunt ; 
in  fact,  they  do  it  now  in  the  other  parts  of  North  America, 
where  there  are  savannas  of  an  immense  extent.  Their 
aim  in  setting  fire  to  it  is  to  allure  the  stags,  bisons,  &c. 
into  the  parts  which  are  burnt,  where  they  can  discern 
them  at  a  greater  distance.  Unless  a  person  has  seen 
these   dreadful   conflagrations,  it   is  impossible  to  form 


222  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

[154]  the  least  idea  of  them.  The  flames  that  occupy 
generally  an  extent  of  several  miles,  are  sometimes  driven 
by  the  wind  with  such  rapidity,  that  the  inhabitants,  even 
on  horseback,  have  become  a  prey  to  them.  The  Ameri- 
can sportsmen  and  the  savages  preserve  themselves  from 
this  danger  by  a  very  ingenious  method ;  they  immediately 
set  fire  to  the  part  of  the  meadow  where  they  are,  and 
then  retire  into  the  space  that  is  burnt,  where  the  flame  that 
threatened  them  stops  for  the  want  of  nourishment. 

[155]  CHAP.  XVII 
General  observations  upon  Kentucky. — Nature  oj  the  soil. — 
First  settlements  in  the  state. — Right  oj  property  uncer- 
tain .  — Population . 

The  state  of  Kentucky  is  situated  36  deg.  30  min.  and 
39  deg.  30  min.  north  latitude,  and  28  deg.  and  89  deg. 
west  longitude;  its  boundaries  to  the  northwest  are  the 
Ohio,  for  an  extent  of  about  seven  hundred  and  sixty 
miles,  to  the  east  of  Virginia,  and  to  the  south  of  Ten- 
nessea;  it  is  separated  from  Virginia  by  the  river  Sandy 
and  the  Laurel  Mountains,  one  of  the  principal  links  of 
the  Alleghanies.  The  greatest  length  of  this  state  is 
about  four  hundred  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth  about 
two  hundred.  This  vast  extent  appears  to  lie  upon  a 
bank  of  chalky  stone,  identic  in  its  nature,  and  covered 
with  a  stratum  of  vegetable  earth,  which  varies  in  its 
composition,  and  is  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  thick.  The 
[156]  boundaries  of  this  immense  bank  are  not  yet  pre- 
scribed in  any  correct  manner,  but  its  thickness  must 
be  very  considerable,  to  judge  of  it  by  the  rivers  in  the 
country,  the  borders  of  which,  and  particularly  those  of 
the  Kentucky  and  Dick  rivers,  which  is  one  branch  of  it, 


1802]  F.  A.  Mtchaux' s  Travels  223 

rise,  in  some  parts,  three  hundred  feet  perpendicular, 
where  the  chalky  stone  is  seen  quite  bare. 

The  soil  in  Kentucky,  although  irregular,  is  not  moun- 
tainous, if  we  except  some  parts  contiguous  to  the  Ohio 
and  on  this  side  Virginia.  The  chalky  stone,  and  abun- 
dant coal  mines  which  lie  useless,  are  the  only  mineral  sub- 
stances worthy  of  notice.  Iron  mines  are  very  scarce 
there,  and,  to  the  best  of  my  remembrance,  but  one  was 
worked,  which  is  far  from  being  sufficient  for  the  wants 
of  the  country. 

The  Kentucky  and  Green  rivers  empty  themselves 
into  the  Ohio,  after  a  course  of  three  hundred  miles; 
they  fall  so  low  in  summer  time,  that  they  are  forded  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  their  embouchure;  but  in  the 
winter  and  spring  they  experience  such  sudden  and  strong 
increases  that  the  waters  of  the  Kentucky  rise  about  forty 
feet  in  four-and-twenty  hours.  This  variation  is  still 
more  remarkable  in  the  secondary  rivers  which  run  into 
it;  the  latter,  [157]  though  frequently  from  ten  to  fifteen 
fathoms  broad,  preserve  such  little  water  in  summer,  that 
there  is  scarcely  one  of  them  which  cannot  be  crossed 
without  wetting  the  feet;  and  the  stream  of  water  that 
serpentines  upon  the  bed  of  chalky  rock  is  at  that  time 
reduced  to  a  few  inches  in  depth ;  in  consequence  of  which 
we  may  look  upon  the  Kentucky  as  an  immense  bason, 
which,  independent  of  the  natural  illapse  of  its  waters 
through  the  channel  of  the  rivers,  loses  a  great  part  of 
them  by  interior  openings. 

The  Atlantic  part  of  the  United  States  in  that  respect 
affords  a  perfect  contrast  with  Kentucky,  as  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Alleghanies  not  the  least  vestige  of  chalky 
stone  is  seen.     The  rivers,  great  and  small,  however  dis- 


224  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

tant  from  their  source,  are  subject  to  no  other  change  in 
the  volume  of  their  waters  but  what  results  from  a  more 
or  less  rainy  season;  and  their  springs,  which  are  very- 
numerous,  always  supply  water  in  abundance ;  this  applies 
more  particularly  to  the  southern  states,  with  which  I  am 
perfectly  acquainted. 

According  to  the  succinct  idea  that  we  have  just  given 
of  Kentucky,  it  is  easy  to  judge  that  the  inhabitants  are 
exposed  to  a  very  serious  inconvenience,  [158]  that  of 
wanting  water  in  the  summer;  still  we  must  except  those 
in  the  vicinity  of  great  rivers  and  their  principal  channels, 
that  always  preserve  water  enough  to  supply  their  domes- 
tic wants ;  thence  it  results  that  many  estates,  even  among 
the  most  fertile,  are  not  cleared,  and  that  the  owners 
cannot  get  rid  of  them  without  the  greatest  difficulty,  as 
the  emigrants,  better  informed  now  a  days,  make  no 
purchases  before  they  have  a  correct  statement  of  locali- 
ties. 

Kentucky  is  that  of  the  three  states  situated  west  of  the 
Alleghanies  which  was  first  populated.  This  country 
was  discovered  in  1770,  by  some  Virginia  sportsmen, 
when  the  favourable  accounts  they  gave  of  it  induced 
others  to  go  there.  No  fixed  establishment,  however, 
was  formed  there  before  1780.  At  that  time  this  immense 
country  was  not  occupied  by  any  Indian  nation;  they 
went  there  to  hunt,  but  all  with  one  common  assent  made 
a  war  of  extermination  against  those  who  wished  to 
settle  there.  Thence  this  country  derives  the  name  of 
Kentucky,  which  signifies,  in  the  language  of  the  natives, 
ike  Land  of  Blood.  When  the  whites  made  their  appear- 
ance there,  the  natives  showed  still  more  opposition  to 
their  establishment;  they  carried  for  a  long  [159]  time 
death  and  desolation,  and  dispatched,  after  their  usual 


1802]  F.  A.  Mlchaux's  Travels  225 

mode,  their  prisoners  in  the  most  cruel  torments.  This 
state  of  things  lasted  till  1783,  at  which  time  the  American 
population  having  become  too  strong  for  them  to  pene- 
trate to  the  centre  of  the  establishment,  they  were  re- 
duced to  the  necessity  of  attacking  the  emigrants  on  their 
route;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  they  were  deserted  by  the 
English  in  Canada,  who  had  abetted  and  supported  them 
in  the  war. 

In  1782  they  began  to  open  roads  for  carriages  in  the 
interior  of  the  country;  prior  to  this  there  were  only 
paths  practicable  for  persons  on  foot  and  horseback. 
Till  1788  those  who  emigrated  from  the  eastern  states 
travelled  by  way  of  Virginia.  In  the  first  place,  they 
went  to  Block  House,  situated  in  Holston,  westward  of 
the  mountains;  and  as  the  government  of  the  United 
States  did  not  furnish  them  with  an  escort,  they  waited 
at  this  place  till  they  were  sufficiently  numerous  to  pass  in 
safety  through  the  Wilderness,  an  uninhabited  space  of  a 
hundred  and  thirty  miles,  which  they  had  to  travel  over 
before  they  arrived  at  Crab  Orchard,  the  first  post  occu- 
pied by  the  whites.48  The  enthusiasm  for  emigrating 
to  Kentucky  was  at  that  time  carried  to  [160]  such  a 
degree  in  the  United  States,  that  some  years  upwards 
of  twenty  thousand  have  been  known  to  pass,  and  many 
of  them  had  even  deserted  their  estates,  not  having  been 
able  to  dispose  of  them  quick  enough.  This  overflow 
of  new  colonists  very  soon  raised  the  price  of  land  in 
Kentucky,  from  two-pence  and  two-pence  halfpenny  per 
acre,  it  suddenly  rose  to  seven  or  eight  shillings.  The 
stock-jobbers  profited  by  this  infatuation,  and,  not  con- 
tent with  a  moderate  share  of  gain,  practised  the  most 
illegal  measures  to  dispose  of  the  land  to  great  advantage. 

48  For  an  account  of  this  road,  see  ante,  p.  45. —  Ed. 


226  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

They  went  so  far  as  to  fabricate  false  plans,  in  which 
they  traced  rivers  favourable  for  mills  and  other  uses;  in 
this  manner  many  ideal  lots,  from  five  hundred  to  a  hun- 
dred thousand  acres,  were  sold  in  Europe,  and  even  in 
several  great  towns  of  the  United  States. 

Till  the  year  1792,  Kentucky  formed  a  part  of  Virginia; 
but  the  distance  from  Richmond,  the  seat  of  government 
belonging  to  this  state,  being  seven  hundred  miles  from 
Lexinton,  occasions  the  most  serious  inconveniences  to 
the  inhabitants,  and  their  number  rising  considerably 
above  that  required  to  form  an  independent  state,  they 
were  admitted  into  the  union  in  the  month  of  March  fol- 
lowing. The  [161]  state  of  Virginia,  on  giving  up  its 
pretensions  to  that  country,  consented  to  it  only  on  cer- 
tain conditions ;  it  imposed  on  the  convention  at  Kentucky 
an  obligation  to  follow,  in  part,  its  code  of  laws,  and  par- 
ticularly to  keep  up  the  slave-trade. 

Prior  to  the  year  1782,  the  number  of  inhabitants  at 
Kentucky  did  not  exceed  three  thousand;  it  was  about  a 
hundred  thousand  in  1790,  and  in  the  general  verifica- 
tion made  in  1800,  it  amounted  to  two  hundred  thousand. 
When  I  was  at  Lexinton  in  the  month  of  August  1802, 
its  population  was  estimated  at  two  hundred  thousand, 
including  twenty  thousand  negro  slaves.  Thus,  in  this 
state,  where  there  were  not  ten  individuals  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five  who  were  born  there,  the  number  of  the  in- 
habitants is  now  as  considerable  as  in  seven  of  the  old 
states;  and  there  are  only  four  where  the  population  is 
twice  as  numerous.  This  increase,  already  so  rapid, 
would  have  been  much  more  so  had  it  not  been  for  a  par- 
ticular circumstance  that  prevents  emigrants  from  going 
there;  I  mean  the  difficulty  of  proving  the  right  of  property. 
Of  all  the  states  in  the  union  it  is  that  wherein  the  rights 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  227 

of  an  individual  are  most  subject  to  contest.  I  did  not 
stop  at  the  house  of  one  inhabitant  who  was  persuaded  of 
[162]  the  validity  of  his  own  right  but  what  seemed  dubi- 
ous of  his  neighbour's. 

Among  the  numerous  causes  which  have  produced  this 
incredible  confusion  with  respect  to  property,  one  of  the 
principal  may  be  attributed  to  the  ignorance  of  the  sur- 
veyors, or  rather  to  the  difficulty  they  experienced,  in  the 
early  stage  of  things,  in  following  their  professions.  The 
continual  state  of  war  in  which  this  country  was  at  that 
time  obliged  them  frequently  to  suspend  their  business, 
in  order  to  avoid  being  shot  by  the  natives,  who  were 
watching  for  them  in  the  woods.  The  danger  they  ran 
was  extreme,  as  it  is  well  known  a  native  will  go  upwards 
of  a  hundred  miles  to  kill  a  single  enemy;  he  stays  for 
several  days  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree  to  take  him  by  sur- 
prise, and  when  he  has  killed  him,  he  scalps  him,  and 
returns  with  the  same  rapidity.  From  this  state  of  things, 
the  result  was  that  the  same  lot  has  not  only  been  measured 
several  times  by  different  surveyors,  but  more  frequently 
it  has  been  crossed  by  different  lines,  which  distinguish 
particular  parts  of  that  lot  from  the  lots  adjacent,  which, 
in  return,  are  in  the  same  situation  with  regard  to  those 
that  are  contiguous  to  them;  in  short,  there  are  lots  of  a 
thousand  acres  where  a  hundred  [163]  of  them  are  not 
reclaimed.  Military  rights  are  still  looked  upon  as  the 
most  assured.  One  very  remarkable  thing  is,  that  many 
of  the  inhabitants  find  a  guarantee  for  their  estates  that 
are  thus  confused;  as  the  law,  being  always  on  the  bide 
of  agriculture,  enacts  that  all  improvements  shall  be  reim- 
bursed by  the  person  who  comes  forward  to  declare  him- 
self the  first  possessor;  and  as  the  estimation,  on  account 
of  the  high  price  of  labour,  is  always  made  in  favour  of 


228  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  cultivators,  it  follows  that  many  people  dare  not  claim 
their  rights  through  fear  of  considerable  indemnifications 
being  awarded  against  them,  and  of  being  in  turn  ex- 
pelled by  others,  who  might  attack  them  at  the  moment 
when  they  least  expected  it.  This  incertitude  in  the 
right  of  property  is  an  inexhaustible  source  of  tedious  and 
expensive  law-suits,  which  serve  to  enrich  the  professional 
gentlemen  of  the  country. 

[164]  CHAP.  XVIII 
Distinction  of  Estates. — Species  0}  Trees  peculiar  to  each 

0}  them. — Ginseng. — Annuals  in  Kentucky. 

In  Kentucky,  as  well  as  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and 
Carolina,  the  estates  are  divided  into  three  classes,  for 
the  better  assessment  of  the  taxes.  This  division  with 
respect  to  the  fertility  of  the  land  is  relative  to  each  of 
these  states;  thus  in  Kentucky,  for  example,  they  would 
put  in  the  second  class  estates,  which,  east  of  the  moun- 
tains, would  be  ranked  in  the  first,  and  in  the  third,  those 
which  in  Georgia  and  Low  Carolina  would  be  the  sec- 
ond. I  do  not  mean,  however,  to  say  by  this  that  there 
are  not  some  possessions  in  the  eastern  states  as  fertile 
as  in  the  western;  but  they  are  seldom  found  except 
along  the  rivers  and  in  the  vallies,  and  do  not  embrace  so 
considerable  a  tract  of  country  as  in  [165]  Kentucky, 
and  that  part  of  Tennessea  situate  west  of  the  Cumber- 
land Mountains. 

In  these  two  states  they  appreciate  the  fertility  of  the 
land  by  the  different  species  of  trees  that  grow  there; 
thus  when  they  announce  the  sale  of  an  estate,  they  take 
care  to  specify  the  particular  species  of  trees  peculiar 
to  its  various  parts,  which  is  a  sufficient  index  for  the 
purchaser.     This    rule,    however,    suffers    an    exception 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  229 

to  the  Barrens,  the  soil  of  which,  as  I  have  remarked,  is 
fertile  enough,  and  where  there  are  notwithstanding  here 
and  there  Scroby  oaks,  or  quercus  nigra,  shell-barked 
hickeries,  or  juglans  hickery,  which  in  forests  charac- 
terise the  worst  of  soil.  In  support  of  this  mode  of  appre- 
ciating in  America  the  fecundity  of  the  soil  by  the  nature 
of  the  trees  it  produces,  I  shall  impart  a  remarkable 
observation  that  I  made  on  my  entering  this  state.  In 
Kentucky  and  Cumberland,49  independent  of  a  few  trees 
natives  of  this  part  of  these  countries,  the  mass  of  the 
forests,  in  estates  of  the  first  class,  is  composed  of  the 
same  species  which  [166]  are  found,  but  very  rarely,  east 
of  the  mountains,  in  the  most  fertile  soil ;  these  species  are 
the  following,  cerasus  Virginia,  or  cherry-tree;  juglans 
oblonga,  or  white  walnut;  pavia  lutea,  buck-eye;  jraxinus 
alba,  nigra,  cerulea,  or  white,  black,  and  blue  ash;  celtis 
joliis  villosis,  or  ack  berry ;  ulmus  viscosa,  or  slippery  elm ; 
quercus  imbricaria,  or  black-jack  oak;  guilandina  disica, 
or  coffee  tree;  gleditsia  triacanthos,  or  honey  locust;  and 
the  annona  triloba,  or  papaw,  which  grows  thirty  feet  in 
height.  These  three  latter  species  denote  the  richest 
lands.  In  the  cool  and  mountainous  parts,  and  along  the 
rivers  where  the  banks  are  not  very  steep,  we  observed 
again  the  quercus  macrocarpa,  or  over-cup  white  oak, 
the  acorns  of  which  are  as  large  as  a  hen's  egg;  the  acer 
sacharinum,  or  sugar-maple;  the  fagus  sylvatica,  or 
beech;  together  with  the  planus  occidentalis,  or  plane: 
the  liriodendrum  tulipifera,  or  white  and  yellow  poplar; 
and  the  magnolia  acuminata,  or  cucumber-tree,  all  three 
of  which  measure  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in  cir- 

49  In  the  United  States  they  give  the  name  of  Cumberland  to  that  part  of 
Tennessea  situated  to  the  west  of  the  mountains  of  the  same  name. —  F.  A. 
Michat/x. 


230  Ea  rly  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

cumference;  the  plane,  as  I  have  before  observed,  at- 
tains a  greater  diameter.  The  two  species  of  poplar, 
i.  e.  the  white  and  yellow  wood,  have  not  the  least  exter- 
nal character,  neither  in  their  leaves  nor  flowers,  by 
which  they  may  be  [167]  distinguished  from  each  other; 
and  as  the  species  of  the  yellow  wood  is  of  a  much  greater 
use,  before  they  fell  a  tree  they  satisfy  themselves  by  a 
notch  that  it  is  of  that  species. 

In  estates  of  the  second  class  are  the  jagus  castanea,  or 
chestnut  tree;  quercus  rubra,  or  red  oak;  quercus  tinctoria, 
or  black  oak;  laurus  sassafras,  or  sassafras;  diospiros  Vir- 
ginia, or  persimon;  liquidambar  styraciflua,  or  sweet  gum; 
nyssa  villosa,  or  gum  tree,  a  tree  which,  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  its  name,  affords  neither  gum  nor  resin.  Those 
of  the  third  class,  which  commonly  are  dry  and  moun- 
tainous, produce  very  little  except  black  and  red  oaks, 
chestnut  oaks  of  the  mountains,  quercus  prinus  montana, 
or  rocky  oak  pines,  and  a  few  Virginia  cedars. 

The  juglans  pacane  is  found  beyond  the  embouchure 
of  the  rivers  Cumberland  and  Tennessea,  whence  they 
sometimes  bring  it  to  the  markets  at  Lexinton.  This 
tree  does  not  grow  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
The  lobelia  cardinalis  grows  abundantly  in  all  the  cool 
and  marshy  places,  as  well  as  the  lobelia  sphilitica.  The 
latter  is  more  common  in  Kentucky  than  in  the  other 
parts  of  the  United  States  that  I  travelled  over.  The 
laurus  [168]  bensoin,  or  spice  wood,  is  also  very  numer- 
ous there.  The  two  kinds  of  vaccinium  and  andromeda, 
which  form  a  series  of  more  than  thirty  species,  all  very 
abundant  in  the  eastern  states,  seem  in  some  measure 
excluded  from  those  of  the  western  and  the  chalky  region, 
where  we  found  none  but  the  andromeda  arborea. 

In  all  the  fertile  parts  covered  by  the  forests  the  soil  is 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  231 

completely  barren;  no  kind  of  herbage  is  seen  except  a 
few  plants,  scattered  here  and  there;  and  the  trees  are 
always  far  enough  apart  that  a  stag  may  be  seen  a  hun- 
dred or  a  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms  off.  Prior  to  the 
Europeans  settling,  the  whole  of  this  space,  now  bare, 
was  covered  with  a  species  of  the  great  articulated  reed, 
called  arundinaria  macros perma,  or  cane,  which  is  in  the 
woods  from  three  to  four  inches  diameter,  and  grows 
seven  or  eight  feet  high;  but  in  the  swamps  and  marshes 
that  border  the  Mississippi  it  is  upward  of  twenty  feet. 
Although  it  often  freezes  in  Kentucky,  from  five  to  six 
degrees,  for  several  days  together,  its  foliage  keeps  always 
green,  and  does  not  appear  to  suffer  by  the  cold. 

Although  the  ginseng  is  not  a  plant  peculiar  to  Ken- 
tucky, it  is  still  very  numerous  there.  This  induces 
[169]  me  to  speak  of  it  here.  The  ginseng  is  found  in 
America  from  Lower  Canada  as  far  as  the  state  of  Georgia, 
which  comprises  an  extent  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
miles.  It  grows  chiefly  in  the  mountainous  regions  of 
the  Alleghanies,  and  is  by  far  more  abundant  as  the 
chain  of  these  mountains  incline  south  west.  It  is  also 
found  in  the  environs  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  as 
well  as  in  that  part  of  the  northern  states  situated  between 
the  mountains  and  the  sea.  It  grows  upon  the  declivity 
of  the  hills,  in  the  cool  and  shady  places,  where  the  soil  is 
richest.  A  man  cannot  pull  up  above  eight  or  nine  pounds 
of  fresh  roots  per  day.  These  roots  are  always  less  than 
an  inch  diameter,  even  after  fifteen  years'  growth,  if  by 
any  means  we  can  judge  of  it  with  certitude  by  the  num- 
ber of  impressions  that  are  to  be  seen  round  the  upper 
part  of  the  neck  of  the  root,  produced  by  the  stalks  that 
succeed  each  other  annually.  The  shape  of  these  roots 
is  generally  elliptical;  and  whenever  it  is  biforked,  which 


232  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol. 3 

is  very  rare,  one  of  the  divisions  is  always  thicker  and 
longer  than  the  other.  The  seeds  of  the  ginseng  are  of  a 
brilliant  red,  and  fastened  to  each  other.  Every  foot 
seldom  yields  more  than  two  or  three.  They  are  very 
similar  in  shape  and  size  to  the  wild  [170]  honey  suckle. 
When  they  are  disencumbered  of  the  substance  that  en- 
velopes them  they  are  flat  and  semicircular.  Their 
taste  is  more  spicy,  and  not  so  bitter  as  the  root.  A 
month  or  two  after  they  are  gathered  they  grow  oily;  and 
it  is  probable  to  the  rancidity  which  in  course  of  time  the 
seed  attains  we  must  attribute  the  difficulty  there  is  in 
rearing  them  when  they  are  kept  too  long.  They  are 
full  ripe  from  the  15th  of  September  to  the  1st  of  October. 
I  gathered  about  half  an  ounce  of  them,  which  was  a 
great  deal,  considering  the  difficulty  there  is  in  procuring 
them. 

It  was  a  French  missionary  who  first  discovered  the 
ginseng  in  Canada.  When  it  was  verified  that  this  plant 
was  the  same  as  that  which  grows  in  Tartary,  the  root 
of  which  has  such  valuable  qualities  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Chinese,  it  became  an  article  of  trade  with  China.  For 
some  time  after  its  discovery  the  root  was  sold  for  its 
weight  in  gold;  but  this  lucrative  trade  was  but  of  short 
duration.  The  ginseng  exported  from  America  was  so 
badly  prepared,  that  it  fell  very  low  in  price,  and  the 
trade  almost  entirely  ceased.  However,  for  some  time 
past  it  has  been  rather  better.  Though  the  Americans 
have  been  so  long  deprived  of  this  beneficial  trade,  it  can 
[171]  only  be  attributed  to  the  want  of  precaution  that 
they  used  either  in  the  gathering  or  preparation  of  the 
ginseng.  In  Chinese  Tartary  this  gathering  belongs 
exclusively  to  the  emperor;  it  is  done  only  by  his  orders, 
and  they  proceed  in  it  with  the  greatest  care.     It  com- 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  233 

mences  in  autumn,  and  continues  all  the  winter,  the  epoch 
when  the  root  has  acquired  its  full  degree  of  maturity 
and  perfection ;  and  by  the  means  of  a  very  simple  process 
they  render  it  almost  transparent. 

In  the  United  States,  on  the  contrary,  they  begin 
gathering  of  ginseng  in  the  spring,  and  end  at  the  decline 
of  autumn.  Its  root,  then  soft  and  watery,  wrinkles  in 
drying,  terminates  in  being  extremely  hard,  and  loses 
thus  a  third  of  its  bulk,  and  nearly  half  its  weight.  These 
causes  have  contributed  in  lowering  its  value.  It  is 
only  gathered  in  America  by  the  inhabitants  whose  usual 
occupations  afford  them  leisure,  and  by  the  sportsmen, 
who,  with  their  carabine,  provide  themselves,  for  this 
purpose,  with  a  bag  and  a  pickaxe.  The  merchants 
settled  in  the  interior  of  the  country  purchase  dried  gin- 
seng at  the  rate  of  ten  pence  per  pound,  and  sell  it  again 
from  eighteen  pence  to  two  shillings,  at  the  seaports. 
I  have  never  heard  particularly  what  quantity  [172]  of  it 
was  exported  annually  to  China,  but  I  think  it  must 
exceed  twenty-five  to  thirty  thousand  pounds  weight. 
Within  these  four  or  five  years  this  trade  has  been  very 
brisk.  Several  persons  begin  even  to  employ  the  means 
made  use  of  by  the  Chinese  to  make  the  root  transparent. 
This  process,  long  since  described  in  several  works,  is  still 
a  secret  which  is  sold  for  four  hundred  dollars  in  Ken- 
tucky. The  ginseng  thus  prepared  is  purchased  at  six  or 
seven  dollars  per  pound,  by  the  merchants  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  is,  they  say,  sold  again  at  Canton  for  fifty 
or  a  hundred,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  roots- 
Again,  the  profits  must  be  very  considerable,  since  there 
are  people  who  export  it  themselves  from  Kentucky  to 
China. 

They  have  again,  in  Kentucky,  and  the  western  coun- 


234  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

try,  the  same  animals  that  inhabit  those  parts  east  of  the 
mountains,  and  even  Canada:  but  a  short  time  after  the 
settling  of  the  Europeans  several  species  of  them  wholly 
disappeared,  particularly  the  elks  and  bisons.  The 
latter,  notwithstanding,  were  more  common  there  than 
in  any  other  part  of  North  America.  The  non-occupa- 
tion of  the  country,  the  quantity  of  rushes  and  wild  peas, 
which  supplied  them  abundantly  with  food  the  whole 
year  round;  and  [173]  the  licks  (places  impregnated  with 
salt,  as  I  have  before  mentioned)  are  the  causes  that  kept 
them  there.  Their  number  was  at  that  time  so  con- 
siderable, that  they  were  met  in  flocks  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  to  two  hundred.  They  were  so  far  from  being 
ferocious,  that  they  did  not  fear  the  approach  of  the 
huntsmen,  who  sometimes  shot  them  solely  for  the  sake  of 
having  their  tongue,  which  they  looked  upon  as  a  delicious 
morsel.  At  four  years  old  they  weigh  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  hundred  weight;  and  their  flesh,  it  is  said,  is 
preferable  to  that  of  the  ox.  At  present  there  are  scarcely 
any  from  Ohio  to  the  river  Illinois.  They  have  nearly 
deserted  these  parts,  and  strayed  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Mississippi. 

The  only  species  of  animals  that  are  still  common  in 
the  country  are  the  following,  viz.  the  deer,  bear,  wolf, 
red  and  grey  fox,  wild  cat,  racoon,  opossum,  and  three 
or  four  kinds  of  squirrels. 

The  animals  to  which  the  Americans  give  the  name  of 
wild  cat  is  the  Canadian  lynx,  or  simply  a  different 
species;  and  it  is  through  mistake  that  several  authors 
have  advanced  that  the  true  wild  cat,  as  they  look  upon 
to  be  the  original  of  the  domestic  species,  either  existed 
in  the  United  States,  or  more  northerly. 

The  racoon,  or  ursus  lotor,  is  about  the  size  of  a  [174] 


i8o2]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  235 

fox,  but  not  so  tall  and  more  robust.  Taken  young,  it 
very  soon  grows  tame,  and  stays  in  the  house,  where  it 
catches  mice  similar  to  a  cat.  The  name  of  lotor  is 
very  appropriate,  as  the  animal  retires  in  preference  in  the 
hollow  trees  that  grow  by  the  side  of  creeks  or  small  rivers 
that  run  through  the  swamp ;  and  in  these  sorts  of  marshes 
it  is  most  generally  found.  It  is  most  common  in  the 
southern  and  western  states,  as  well  as  in  the  remote  parts 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  It  is  very  destructive  in 
the  corn  fields.  The  usual  method  of  catching  this  animal 
is  with  dogs,  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  as  it  is  very  rarely 
to  be  seen  in  the  day  time.  Its  skin  is  very  much  esteemed, 
throughout  the  United  States,  by  the  hat  manufacturers, 
who  purchase  them  at  the  rate  of  two  shillings  each. 

Nearer  toward  the  houses  the  inhabitants  are  infested 
with  squirrels,  which  do  also  considerable  damage  to  the 
corn.  This  species  sciurus  corolinianus,  is  of  a  greyish 
colour,  and*  rather  larger  than  those  in  Europe.  The 
number  of  them  is  so  immense,  that  several  times  a  day 
the  children  are  sent  round  the  fields  to  frighten  them 
away.  At  the  least  noise  they  run  out  by  dozens,  and 
take  shelter  upon  the  trees,  whence  they  come  down  the 
very  moment  after.  [175]  As  well  as  the  bears  in  North 
America,  they  are  subject  to  emigrations.  Toward  the 
approach  of  winter  they  appear  in  so  great  a  number, 
that  the  inhabitants  are  obliged  to  meet  together  in  order 
to  destroy  them.  An  excursion  for  this  purpose,  every 
now  and  then,  is  looked  upon  as  pleasure.  They  go 
generally  two  by  two,  and  kill  sometimes  thirty  or  forty 
in  a  morning.  A  single  man,  on  the  contrary,  could 
scarcely  kill  one,  as  the  squirrel,  springing  upon  the 
branch  of  a  tree,  keeps  turning  round  successively  to  put 
himself  in  opposition  to  the  gunner.     I  was  at  one  of 


236  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

these  sporting  parties,  where,  for  dinner,  which  is  gen- 
erally taken  in  some  part  of  the  wood  appointed  for  the 
rendezvous,  they  had  above  sixty  of  them  roasted.  Their 
flesh  is  white  and  exceedingly  tender,  and  this  method  of 
dressing  them  is  preferable  to  any  other. 

Wild  turkies,  which  begin  to  grow  Very  scarce  in  the 
southern  states,  are  still  extremely  numerous  in  the  west. 
In  the  parts  least  inhabited  they  are  so  very  tame,  that 
they  may  be  shot  with  a  pistol.  In  the  east,  on  the  con- 
trary, and  more  particularly  in  the  environs  of  the  sea- 
ports, it  is  very  difficult  to  approach  them.  They  are 
not  alarmed  at  a  noise,  [176]  but  they  have  a  very  piercing 
sight,  and  as  soon  as  they  perceive  the  gunner  they  fly 
with  such  swiftness  that  it  is  impossible  for  a  dog  to  over- 
take them  for  several  minutes;  and  when  they  see  them- 
selves on  the  point  of  being  taken,  they  escape  by  resum- 
ing their  flight.  Wild  turkies  usually  frequent  the 
swamps  and  the  sides  of  creeks  and  rivers,  whence  they 
only  go  out  morning  and  evening.  They  perch  upon  the 
tops  of  the  loftiest  trees,  where,  notwithstanding  their 
size,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  perceive  them.  When  they 
are  not  frightened,  they  return  upon  the  same  trees  for 
several  weeks  together. 

For  the  space  of  eight  hundred  leagues  east  of  Missis- 
sippi there  is  only  this  one  species  of  the  wild  turkey. 
They  are  much  larger  than  those  that  we  have  in  our 
farm-yards.  In  autumn  and  winter  they  chiefly  feed  on 
chesnuts  and  acorns.  At  that  time  some  are  shot  that 
weigh  from  thirty  to  forty  pounds.  The  variety  of  do- 
mestic turkies  proceeds  originally  from  this  species  of 
wild  turkies;  and  when  it  has  not  been  crossed  with  the 
common  species,  it  preserves  the  primitive  colour  of  its 
plumage,  and  that  of  the  feet,  which  are  of  a  deep  red. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  237 

Though  ever  since  the  year  1525  our  domestic  turkies  were 
naturalized  [177]  in  Spain,  whence  they  were  introduced 
into  Europe,  it  is  probable  that  they  are  natives  of  some 
of  the  more  southern  parts  of  America,  where  there  may 
be,  I  have  no  doubt,  a  different  species  from  that  found 
in  the  United  States. 

[178]  CHAP.  XIX 
Different  kinds  of  culture  in  Kentucky. — Exportation  of 
colonial  produce. — Peach  trees. — Taxes 

In  the  state  of  Kentucky,  like  those  of  the  southern 
parts,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants,  isolated  in  the 
woods,  cultivate  their  estates  themselves,  and  particularly 
in  harvest  time  they  assist  each  other;  while  some,  more 
independent,  have  their  land  cultivated  by  negro  slaves. 

They  cultivate,  in  this  state,  tobacco,  hemp,  and  differ- 
ent sorts  of  grain  from  Europe,  principally  wheat  and 
Indian  corn.  The  frosts,  which  begin  very  early,  are 
unfavourable  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  which  might  be  a 
profitable  part  of  their  commerce,  provided  the  inhabi- 
tants had  any  hopes  of  success.  It  is  by  the  culture  of 
Indian  corn  that  all  those  who  form  establishments  com- 
mence; since  for  the  few  [179]  years  after  the  ground  is 
cleared  the  soil  is  so  fertile  in  estates  of  the  first  class, 
that  the  corn  drops  before  it  ears.  Their  process  in  hus- 
bandry is  thus:  after  having  opened,  with  the  plough, 
furrows  about  three  feet  from  each  other,  they  cut  them 
transversely  by  others  at  an  equal  distance,  and  set  seven 
or  eight  grains  in  the  points  of  intersection.  When  they 
have  all  come  up,  only  two  or  three  plants  are  left  in  the 
ground;  a  necessary  precaution,  in  order  to  give  free 
scope  for  the  vegetation,  and  to  insure  a  more  abundant 
harvest.     Toward  the  middle  of  the  summer  the  leaves 


238  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

from  the  bottom  of  the  stalk  begin  to  wither,  and  suc- 
cessively those  from  the  top.  In  proportion  as  they  dry 
up  they  are  carried  away  carefully,  and  reserved  as  a 
winter  sustenance  for  horses,  which  prefer  that  kind  of 
forage  to  the  best  hay. 

In  estates  of  the  first  class,  that  yield  annually,  Indian 
corn  grows  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  high,  and  produces,  in 
a  common  year,  forty  to  fifty  English  bushels  per  acre, 
and  sixty  to  seventy-five  in  abundant  years.  Some  have 
been  known,  the  second  and  third  year  after  the  land  has 
been  cleared,  to  yield  a  hundred.  The  bushel,  weighing 
about  fifty  to  fifty-five  pounds,  never  sells  for  more  than  a 
[180]  quarter  of  a  dollar,  and  sometimes  does  not  bring 
half  the  money. 

The  species  of  corn  that  they  cultivate  is  long  and  flat 
in  point  of  shape,  and  generally  of  a  deep  yellow.  The 
time  of  harvest  is  toward  the  end  of  September.  A 
single  individual  may  cultivate  eight  or  ten  acres  of  it. 
The  culture  of  corn  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
country;  much  more,  however,  with  regard  to  exporta- 
tion than  as  an  object  of  consumption.  The  county  of 
Fayette,  of  which  Lexinton  is  the  chief  town,  and  the 
surrounding  counties,  are  those  that  supply  the  most. 
Good  estates  produce  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels 
per  acre,  weighing  about  sixty  pounds,  although  they 
never  manure  the  ground,  nor  till  it  more  than  once. 

The  harvest  is  made  in  the  commencement  of  July. 
The  corn  is  cut  with  a  sickle,  and  threshed  the  same  as  in 
other  parts  of  Europe.  The  corn  is  of  a  beautiful  colour, 
and  I  am  convinced,  through  the  excellence  of  the  soil, 
that  the  flour  will  be  of  a  superior  quality  to  that  of 
Philadelphia,  which,  as  it  is  well  known,  surpasses  in 
whiteness  the  best  that  grows  in  France. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux 's  Travels  239 

The  plough  which  they  make  use  of  is  light,  [181] 
without  wheels,  and  drawn  by  horses.  It  is  the  same  in  all 
the  southern  states. 

The  blight,  the  blue  flower,  and  the  poppy,  so  common 
in  our  fields  among  the  corn,  have  not  shewn  themselves 
in  North  America. 

The  harvest  of  1802  was  so  plentiful  in  Kentucky,  that 
in  the  month  of  August,  the  time  that  I  was  at  Lexinton, 
corn  did  not  bring  more  than  eighteen  pence  per  bushel, 
(about  two  shillings  per  hundred  weight).  It  had  never 
been  known  at  so  low  a  price.  Still  this  fall  was  not  only 
attributed  to  the  abundance  of  the  harvest,  but  also  on 
account  of  the  return  of  peace  in  Europe.  They  are 
convinced,  in  the  country,  that  at  this  price  the  culture 
of  corn  cannot  support  itself  as  an  object  of  commerce; 
and  that  in  order  for  the  inhabitants  to  cover  their  ex- 
pense the  barrel  of  flour  ought  not  to  be  sold  at  New 
Orleans  for  less  than  four  or  five  dollars. 

In  all  the  United  States  the  flour  that  they  export  is 
put  into  slight  barrels  made  of  oak,  and  of  an  uniform 
size.  In  Kentucky  the  price  of  them  is  about  three- 
eighths  of  a  dollar,  (fifteen  pence).  They  ought  to  con- 
tain ninety-six  pounds  of  flour,  which  takes  five  bushels 
of  corn,  including  the  expenses  of  grinding. 

[182]  The  freightage  of  a  boat  to  convey  the  flour  to 
Low  Louisiana  costs  about  a  hundred  dollars.  They 
contain  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
barrels,  and  are  navigated  by  five  men,  of  whom  the 
chief  receives  a  hundred  dollars  for  the  voyage,  and  the 
others  fifty  each.  They  take,  from  Louisville,  where 
nearly  the  whole  embarkations  are  made,  from  thirty  to 
thirty-five  days  to  go  to  New  Orleans.  They  reckon  it 
four  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  from  Louisville  to  the 


240  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

embouchure  of  the  Ohio,  and  about  a  thousand  miles 
thence  to  New  Orleans,  which  makes  it,  upon  the  whole, 
a  passage  of  fourteen  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles;  and 
these  boats  have  to  navigate  upon  the  river  a  space  of 
eight  or  nine  hundred  miles  without  meeting  with  any 
plantations.  A  part  of  the  crew  return  to  Lexinton  by 
land,  which  is  about  eleven  hundred  miles,  in  forty  or 
forty-five  days.  This  journey  is  extremely  unpleasant, 
and  those  who  dread  the  fatigues  of  it  return  by  sea. 
They  embark  at  New  Orleans  for  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, whence  they  return  to  Pittsburgh,  and  thence  go 
down  the  Ohio  as  far  as  Kentucky. 

An  inspector  belonging  to  the  port  of  Louisville  in- 
serted in  the  Kentucky  Gazette  of  the  6th  of  August  [183] 
1802,  that  85,570  barrels  of  flour,  from  the  1st  of  January 
to  the  30th  of  June  following,  went  out  of  that  port  to 
Low  Louisiana.  More  than  two  thirds  of  this  quantity 
may  be  considered  as  coming  from  the  state  of  Kentucky, 
and  the  rest  from  Ohio  and  the  settlements  situated  upon 
the  rivers  Monongahela  and  Alleghany.  The  spring  and 
autumn  are  principally  the  seasons  in  which  this  exporta- 
tion is  made.  It  is  almost  null  in  summer,  an  epoch  at 
which  almost  all  the  mills  are  stopped  for  the  want  of 
water.  Rye  and  oats  come  up  also  extremely  well  in 
Kentucky.  The  rye  is  nearly  all  made  use  of  in  the 
distilling  of  whiskey,  and  the  oats  as  food  for  horses,  to 
which  they  give  it  frequently  in  little  bunches  from  two 
to  three  pounds,  without  being  threshed. 

The  culture  of  tobacco  has  been  greatly  extended 
within  these  few  years.  The  temperature  of  the  climate, 
and  the  extraordinary  fertility  of  the  soil  gives,  in  that 
respect,  to  this  state,  a  very  great  advantage  over  that  of 
Virginia ;  in  consequence  of  which  tobacco  and  corn  form 
the  principal  branch  of  its  commerce.    It  exports  an- 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  241 

nually  several  thousand  hogsheads,  from  a  thousand  to 
twelve  hundred  pounds  each.  The  price  of  it  is  from 
two  to  three  dollars  per  hundred  weight. 

[184]  Hemp,  both  raw  and  manufactured,  is  also  an 
article  of  exportation.  In  the  same  year,  1802,  there  has 
been  sent  out  of  the  country,  raw  42,048  pounds,  and 
2402  hundred  weight,  converted  into  cables  and  various 
sorts  of  cordage. 

Many  of  the  inhabitants  cultivate  flax.  The  women 
manufacture  linen  of  it  for  their  families,  and  exchange 
the  surplus  with  the  trades-people  for  articles  imported 
from  Europe.  These  linens,  though  coarse,  are  of  a  good 
quality;  yet  none  but  the  inferior  inhabitants  use  them, 
the  others  giving  a  preference  to  Irish  linens,  which  com- 
prise a  considerable  share  of  their  commerce.  Although 
whiter,  they  are  not  so  good  as  our  linens  of  Bretagne. 
The  latter  would  have  found  a  great  sale  in  the  western 
states,  had  it  not  been  for  yielding  Louisiana;  since  it  is 
now  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  expense  of  conveying 
goods  which  go  up  the  river  again  from  New  Orleans  to 
Louisville  is  not  so  great  as  that  from  Philadelphia  to 
Limestone. 

Although  the  temperature  of  the  climate  in  Kentucky 
and  other  western  states  is  favourable  to  the  culture  of 
fruit  trees,  these  parts  have  not  been  populated  long 
enough  for  them  to  be  brought  to  any  great  perfection. 
Beside,  the  Americans  are  by  no  means  so  industrious 
or  interested  in  this  kind  of  [185]  culture  as  the  Euro- 
pean states.  They  have  confined  themselves,  at  present, 
to  the  planting  of  peach  and  apple  trees. 

The  former  are  very  numerous,  and  come  to  the  great- 
est perfection.  There  are  five  or  six  species  of  them, 
some  forward,  and  others  late,  of  an  oval  form,  and  much 
larger  than  our  garden  peaches.     All  the  peaches  grow 


242  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

in  the  open  field,  and  proceed  from  kernels  without  being 
either  pruned  or  grafted.  They  shoot  so  vigorously,  that 
at  the  age  of  four  years  they  begin  to  bear.  The  major 
part  of  the  inhabitants  plant  them  round  their  houses, 
and  others  have  great  orchards  of  them  planted  crosswise. 
They  turn  the  hogs  there  for  two  months  before  the  fruit 
gets  ripe.  These  animals  search  with  avidity  for  the 
peaches  that  fall  in  great  numbers,  and  crack  the  stones 
of  them  for  the  kernels. 

The  immense  quantity  of  peaches  which  they  gather 
are  converted  in  brandy,  of  which  there  is  a  great  con- 
sumption in  the  country,  and  the  rest  is  exported.  A  few 
only  of  the  inhabitants  have  stills;  the  others  carry  their 
peaches  to  them,  and;  bring  back  a  quantity  of  brandy 
proportionate  to  the  number  of  peaches  they  carried, 
except  a  part  that  is  left  for  the  expense  of  distilling. 
Peach  brandy  sells  [186]  for  a  dollar  a  gallon,  which  is 
equal  to  four  English  quarts. 

In  Kentucky  the  taxes  are  assessed  in  the  following 
manner:  they  pay  a  sum  equivalent  to  one  shilling  and 
eight-pence  for  every  white  servant,  six-pence  halfpenny 
for  every  negro,  three-pence  for  a  horse,  two  shillings  per 
hundred  acres  of  land  of  the  first  class,  cultivated  or  not, 
seventeen-pence  per  hundred  of  the  second  class,  and 
sixpence  halfpenny  per  hundred  of  the  third  class.  Al- 
though these  taxes  are,  as  we  must  suppose,  very  moderate, 
and  though  nobody  complains  of  them,  still  a  great  number 
of  those  taxable  are  much  in  arrears.  This  is  what  I  per- 
ceived by  the  numerous  advertisements  of  the  collectors 
that  I  have  seen  pasted  up  in  different  parts  of  the  town 
of  Lexinton.  Again,  these  delays  are  not  peculiar  to  the 
state  of  Kentucky,  as  I  have  made  the  same  remark  in 
those  of  the  east. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  243 

[187]  CHAP.  XX 

Particulars  relative  to  the  manners  of  the  inhabitants  0} 

Kentucky. —  Horses  and  Cattle. —  Necessity  of  giving 

them  salt. —  Wild  Horses  caught  in  the  Plains  0)  New 

Mexico. —  Exportation  oj  salt  provisions. 

For  some  time  past  the  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  have 

taken  to  the  rearing  and  training  horses;50  and  by  this 

lucrative  branch  of  trade  they  derive  considerable  profit, 

on  account  of  the  superfluous  quantity  of  Indian  corn, 

oats,  and  other  forage,  of  which  they  are  deficient  at 

New  Orleans. 

Of  all  the  states  belonging  to  the  union,  Virginia  is 
said  to  have  the  finest  coach  and  saddle-horses,  and  those 
they  have  in  this  country  proceed  originally  from  them, 
the  greatest  part  of  which  was  brought  by  the  emigrants 
who  came  from  Virginia  [188]  to  settle  in  this  state.  The 
number  of  horses,  now  very  considerable,  increases  daily. 
Almost  all  the  inhabitants  employ  themselves  in  train- 
ing and  meliorating  the  breed  of  these  animals;  and  so 
great  a  degree  of  importance  is  attached  to  the  meliora- 
tion, that  the  owners  of  fine  stallions  charge  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  dollars  for  the  covering  of  a  mare.  These 
stallions  come  from  Virginia,  and,  as  I  have  been  told, 
some  were  at  different  times  imported  from  England. 
The  horses  that  proceed  from  them  have  slim  legs,  a 
well-proportioned  head,  and  are  elegantly  formed.  With 
draught-horses  it  is  quite  different.  The  inhabitants  pay 
no  attention  with  respect  to  improving  this  breed;  in 
consequence  of  which  they  are  small,  wretched  in  ap- 
pearance, and  similar  to  those  made  use  of  by  the  peasan- 

50  As  evidence  of  the  interest  of  the  early  Kentuckians  in  the  raising  of  horses, 
it  is  noted  that  the  first  legislative  assembly  for  Transylvania,  meeting  at  Boones- 
borough  in  1775,  passed  an  "act  for  preserving  the  breed  of  horses." —  Ed. 


244  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

try  in  France.  They  appeared  to  me  still  worse  in  Georgia 
and  Upper  Carolina.  In  short,  I  must  say  that  through- 
out the  United  States  there  is  not  a  single  draught-horse 
that  can  be  in  any  wise  compared  with  the  poorest  race  of 
horses  that  I  have  seen  in  England.  This  is  an  assertion 
which  many  Americans  may  probably  not  believe,  but 
still  it  is  correct. 

Many  individuals  profess  to  treat  sick  horses,  but  none 
of  them  have  any  regular  notions  of  the  veterinary  [189] 
art;  an  art  which  would  be  so  necessary  in  a  breeding 
country,  and  which  has,  within  these  few  years,  acquired 
so  high  a  degree  of  perfection  in  England  and  France. 

In  Kentucky,  as  well  as  in  the  southern  states,  the  horses 
are  generally  fed  with  Indian  corn.  Its  nutritive  quality 
is  esteemed  double  to  that  of  oats;  notwithstanding  some- 
times they  are  mixed  together.  In  this  state  horses  are 
not  limited  as  to  food.  In  most  of  the  plantations  the 
manger  is  filled  with  corn,  they  eat  of  it  when  they  please, 
leave  the  stable  to  go  to  grass,  and  return  at  pleasure  to 
feed  on  the  Indian  wheat.  The  stables  are  nothing  but 
log-houses,  where  the  light  penetrates  on  all  sides,  the  in- 
terval that  separates  the  trunks  of  the  trees  with  which 
they  are  constructed  not  being  filled  up  with  clay. 

The  southern  states,  and  in  particular  South  Carolina, 
are  the  principal  places  destined  for  the  sale  of  Ken- 
tucky horses.  They  are  taken  there  in  droves  of  fifteen, 
twenty  and  thirty  at  a  time,  in  the  early  part  of  winter, 
an  epoch  when  the  most  business  is  transacted  at  Caro- 
lina, and  when  the  drivers  are  in  no  fear  of  the  yellow 
fever,  of  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  have  the 
greatest  apprehension.  [190]  They  usually  take  eighteen 
or  twenty  days  to  go  from  Lexinton  to  Charleston.  This 
distance,  which  is  about  seven  hundred  miles,  makes  a 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  245 

difference  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  per  cent  in  the  price  of 
horses.  A  fine  saddle-horse  in  Kentucky  costs  about  a 
hundred  and  thirty  to  a  hundred  and  forty  dollars. 

During  my  sojourn  in  this  state  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  those  wild  horses  that  are  caught  in  the  plains 
of  New  Mexico,  and  which  descend  from  those  that  the 
Spaniards  introduced  there  formerly.  To  catch  them 
they  make  use  of  tame  horses  that  run  much  swifter,  and 
with  which  they  approach  them  near  enough  to  halter 
them.  They  take  them  to  New  Orleans  and  Natches, 
where  they  fetch  about  fifty  dollars.  The  crews  belong- 
ing to  the  boats  that  return  by  land  to  Kentucky  fre- 
quently purchase  some  of  them.  The  two  that  I  saw 
and  made  a  trial  of  were  roan  coloured,  of  a  middling  size, 
the  head  large,  and  not  proportionate  with  the  neck,  the 
limbs  thick,  and  the  mane  rather  full  and  handsome. 
These  horses  have  a  very  unpleasant  gait,  are  capricious, 
difficult  to  govern,  and  even  frequently  throw  the  rider 
and  take  flight. 

The  number  of  horned  cattle  is  very  considerable  in 
Kentucky;  those  who  deal  in  them  purchase  them  [191] 
lean,  and  drive  them  in  droves  of  from  two  to  three 
hundred  to  Virginia,  along  the  river  Potomack,  where 
they  sell  them  to  graziers,  who  fatten  them  in  order  to 
supply  the  markets  of  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia. 
The  price  of  a  good  milch  cow  is,  at  Kentucky,  from 
ten  to  twelve  dollars.  The  milk  in  a  great  measure 
comprises  the  chief  sustenance  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
butter  that  is  not  consumed  in  the  country  is  put  into 
barrels,  and  exported  by  the  river  to  the  Carribbees. 

They  bring  up  very  few  sheep  in  these  parts;  for, 
although  I  went  upwards  of  two  hundred  miles  in  this 
state,  I  saw  them  only  in  four  plantations.     Their  flesh 


246  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

is  not  much  esteemed,  and  their  wool  is  of  the  same 
quality  as  that  of  the  sheep  in  the  eastern  states.  The 
most  that  I  ever  observed  was  in  Rhode  Island. 

Of  all  domestic  animals  hogs  are  the  most  numerous; 
they  are  kept  by  all  the  inhabitants,  several  of  them  feed 
a  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred.  These  animals 
never  leave  the  woods,  where  they  always  find  a  sufficiency 
of  food,  especially  in  autumn  and  winter.  They  grow 
extremely  wild,  and  generally  go  in  herds.  Whenever 
they  are  surprised,  or  attacked  by  a  dog  or  any  other 
animal,  they  either  [192]  make  their  escape,  or  flock  to- 
gether in  the  form  of  a  circle  to  defend  themselves.  They 
are  of  a  bulky  shape,  middling  size,  and  straight  eared. 
Every  inhabitant  recognizes  those  that  belong  to  him  by 
the  particular  manner  in  which  their  ears  are  cut.  They 
stray  sometimes  in  the  forests,  and  do  not  make  their 
appearance  again  for  several  months;  they  accustom 
them,  notwithstanding,  to  return  every  now  and  then  to 
the  plantation,  by  throwing  them  Indian  corn  once  or 
twice  a  week.  It  is  surprising  that  in  so  vast  a  country, 
covered  with  forests,  so  thinly  populated,  comparatively 
to  its  immense  extent,  and  where  there  are  so  few  destruc- 
tive animals,  pigs  have  not  increased  so  far  as  to  grow 
completely  wild. 

In  all  the  western  states,  and  even  to  the  east  of  the 
Alleghanies,  two  hundred  miles  of  the  sea  coast,  they  are 
obliged  to  give  salt  to  the  cattle.  Were  it  not  for  that, 
the  food  they  give  them  would  never  make  them  look 
well;  in  fact,  they  are  so  fond  of  it  that  they  go  of  their 
own  accord  to  implore  it  at  the  doors  of  the  houses  every 
week  or  ten  days,  and  spend  hours  together  in  licking  the 
trough  into  which  they  have  scattered  a  small  quantity 
for  them.    This  want  manifests  itself  most  among  the 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  247 

horses;  [193]  but  it  may  be  on  account  of  their  having  it 
given  them  more  frequently. 

Salt  provisions  form  another  important  article  of  the 
Kentucky  trade.  The  quantity  exported  in  the  first  six 
months  of  the  year  1802  was  seventy- two  thousand  bar- 
rels of  dried  pork,  and  two  thousand  four  hundred  and 
eighty-five  of  salt. 

Notwithstanding  the  superfluity  of  corn  that  grows  in 
this  part  of  the  country,  there  is  scarcely  any  of  the  in- 
habitants that  keep  poultry.  This  branch  of  domestic 
economy  would  not  increase  their  expense,  but  add  a 
pleasing  variety  in  their  food.  Two  reasons  may  be  as- 
signed for  this  neglect;  the  first  is,  that  the  use  of  salt 
provisions,  (a  use  to  which  the  prevalence  of  the  scurvy 
among  them  may  be  attributed,)  renders  these  delicacies 
too  insipid;  the  second,  that  the  fields  of  Indian  corn 
contiguous  to  the  plantations  would  be  exposed  to  con- 
siderable damage,  the  fences  with  which  they  are  inclosed 
being  only  sufficient  to  prevent  the  cattle  and  pigs  from 
trespassing. 

The  inhabitants  of  Kentucky,  as  we  have  before  stated, 
are  nearly  all  natives  of  Virginia,  and  particularly  the 
remotest  parts  of  that  state;  and  exclusive  of  the  gentle- 
men of  the  law,  physicians,  and  a  small  [194]  number  of 
citizens  who  have  received  an  education  suitable  to  their 
professions  in  the  Atlantic  states,  they  have  preserved 
the  manners  of  the  Virginians.  With  them  the  passion 
for  gaming  and  spirituous  liquors  is  carried  to  excess, 
which  frequently  terminates  in  quarrels  degrading  to 
human  nature.  The  public-houses  are  always  crowded, 
more  especially  during  the  sittings  of  the  courts  of  justice. 
Horses  and  law-suits  comprise  the  usual  topic  of  their 
conversation.     If  a  traveller  happens  to  pass  by,  his  horse 


248  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol. 

is  appreciated;  if  he  stops,  he  is  presented  with  a  glass  of 
whiskey,  and  then  asked  a  thousand  questions,  such  as, 
Where  do  you  come  from  ?  where  are  you  going  ?  what  is 
your  name  ?  where  do  you  live  ?  what  profession  ?  were 
there  any  fevers  in  the  different  parts  of  the  country  you 
came  through?  These  questions,  which  are  frequently 
repeated  in  the  course  of  a  journey,  become  tedious,  but  it 
is  easy  to  give  a  check  to  their  inquiries  by  a  little  ad- 
dress; their  only  object  being  the  gratification  of  that 
curiosity  so  natural  to  people  who  live  isolated  in  the 
woods,  and  seldom  see  a  stranger.  They  are  never  dic- 
tated by  mistrust;  for  from  whatever  part  of  the  globe 
a  person  comes,  he  may  visit  all  the  ports  and  principal 
towns  of  the  United  States,  stay  [195]  there  as  long  as  he 
pleases,  and  travel  in  any  part  of  the  country  without  ever 
being  interrogated  by  a  public  officer. 

The  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  eagerly  recommend  to 
strangers  the  country  they  inhabit  as  the  best  part  of  the 
United  States,  as  that  where  the  soil  is  most  fertile,  the 
climate  most  salubrious,  and  where  all  the  inhabitants 
were  brought  through  the  love  of  liberty  and  indepen- 
dence !  In  the  interior  of  their  houses  they  are  generally 
very  neat;  which  induced  me,  whenever  an  opportunity 
offered,  to  prefer  lodging  in  a  private  family  rather  than 
at  a  public  house,  where  the  accommodation  is  inferior, 
although  the  charges  are  considerably  higher. 

The  women  seldom  assist  in  the  labours  of  the  field; 
they  are  very  attentive  to  their  domestic  concerns,  and 
the  spinning  of  hemp  or  cotton,  which  they  convert  into 
linen  for  the  use  of  their  family.  This  employment  alone 
is  truly  laborious,  as  there  are  few  houses  which  contain 
less  than  four  or  five  children. 

Among  the  various  sects  that  exist  in  Kentucky,  those 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  249 

of  the  Methodists  and  Anabaptists  are  the  most  numerous. 
The  spirit  of  religion  has  acquired  a  fresh  degree  of 
strength  within  these  seven  or  eight  [196]  years  among 
the  country  inhabitants,  since,  independent  of  Sundays, 
which  are  scrupulously  observed,  they  assemble,  during 
the  summer,  in  the  course  of  the  week,  to  hear  sermons. 
These  meetings,  which  frequently  consist  of  two  or  three 
thousand  persons  who  come  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
within  fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  take  place  in  the  woods, 
and  continue  for  several  days.  Each  brings  his  provis- 
ions, and  spends  the  night  round  a  fire.  The  clergymen 
are  very  vehement  in  their  discourses.  Often  in  the 
midst  of  the  sermons  the  heads  are  lifted  up,  the  imagina- 
tions exalted,  and  the  inspired  fall  backwards,  exclaim- 
ing, "Glory!  glory!"  This  species  of  infatuation  hap- 
pens chiefly  among  the  women,  who  are  carried  out  of 
the  crowd,  and  put  under  a  tree,  where  they  lie  a  long 
time  extended,  heaving  the  most  lamentable  sighs. 

There  have  been  instances  of  two  or  three  hundred  of 
the  congregation  being  thus  affected  during  the  perfor- 
mance of  divine  service;  so  that  one-third  of  the  hearers 
were  engaged  in  recovering  the  rest.  Whilst  I  was  at 
Lexinton  I  was  present  at  one  of  these  meetings.  The 
better  informed  people  do  not  share  the  opinion  of  the 
multitude  with  regard  to  this  state  of  ecstacy,  and  on  this 
account  they  are  [197]  branded  with  the  appellation  of 
bad  folks.  Except  during  the  continuance  of  this  preach- 
ing, religion  is  very  seldom  the  topic  of  conversation. 
Although  divided  into  several  sects,  they  live  in  the 
greatest  harmony;  and  whenever  there  is  an  alliance 
between  the  families,  the  difference  of  religion  is  never 
considered  as  an  obstacle;  the  husband  and  wife  pursue 
whatever  kind  of  worship  they  like  best,  and  their  chil- 


250  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

dren,  when  they  grow  up,  do  just  the  same,  without  the 
interference  of  their  parents. 

Throughout  the  western  country  the  children  are  kept 
punctually  at  school,  where  they  learn  reading,  writing, 
and  the  elements  of  arithmetic.  These  schools  are  sup- 
ported at  the  expense  of  the  inhabitants,  who  send  for 
masters  as  soon  as  the  population  and  their  circum- 
stances permit;  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  very  rare 
to  find  an  American  who  does  not  know  how  to  read  and 
write.  Upon  the  Ohio,  and  in  the  Barrens,  where  the 
settlements  are  farther  apart,  the  inhabitants  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  procure  this  advantage,  which  is  the 
object  of  solicitude  in  every  family. 

[198]  CHAP.  XXI 
Nasheville. —  Commercial    details. —  Settlement     of     the 

Natches 

Nasheville,  the  principal  and  the  oldest  town  in  this 
part  of  Tennessea,  is  situate  upon  the  river  Cumberland, 
the  borders  of  which,  in  this  part,  are  formed  by  a  mass 
of  chalky  stone  upwards  of  sixty  feet  in  height.  Except 
seven  or  eight  houses  that  are  built  of  brick,  the  rest,  to 
the  number  of  about  a  hundred  and  twenty,  are  con- 
structed of  wood,  and  distributed  upon  a  surface  of 
twenty-five  or  thirty  acres,  where  the  rock  appears  almost 
bare  in  every  part.  They  cannot  procure  water  in  the 
town  without  going  a  considerable  way  about  to  reach  the 
banks  of  the  river,  or  descending  by  a  deep  and  danger- 
ous path.  When  I  was  at  Nasheville  one  of  the  inhabi- 
tants was  endeavouring  to  pierce  the  rock,  in  order  to 
make  a  well;  but  at  that  time  he  [199]  had  only  dug  a  few 
feet,  on  account  of  the  stone  being  so  amazingly  hard. 

This  little  town,  although  built  upwards  of  fifteen  years, 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  251 

contains  no  kind  of  manufactory  or  public  establishment ; 
but  there  is  a  printing-office  which  publishes  a  newspaper 
once  a  week.  They  have  also  began  to  found  a  college, 
which  has  been  presented  with  several  benefactions  for 
its  endowment,  but  this  establishment  was  only  in  its 
infancy,  having  but  seven  or  eight  students  and  one  pro- 
fessor.51 

The  price  of  labour  is  higher  in  this  town  than  at  Lexin- 
ton,  and  the  same  disproportion  exists  between  this  price 
and  that  of  provisions.  There  appeared  to  be  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  shops,  which  are  supplied  from  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore,  but  they  did  not  seem  so  well  stocked  as 
those  at  Lexinton,  and  the  articles,  though  dearer,  are  of 
an  inferior  quality.  The  cause  of  their  being  so  dear 
may  be  in  some  measure  attributed  to  the  expense  of  car- 
riage, which  is  much  greater  on  account  of  the  amazing 
distance  the  boats  destined  for  Tennessea  have  to  go  up 
the  Ohio.  In  fact,  after  having  passed  by  Limestone, 
the  place  where  they  unload  for  Kentucky,  and  which 
is  four  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  Pittsburgh,  they 
have  still  to  make  a  passage  up  the  river  of  six  [200]  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  miles  to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Cumberland,  and  a  hundred  and  eighty  miles  to  arrive 
at  Nasheville,  which,  in  the  whole,  comprises  a  space  of 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-one  miles  from 

51  The  first  newspaper  published  in  Western  Tennessee  was  the  Tennessee 
Gazette,  begun  in  1797;  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Nashville  Clarion,  in  1800. 

One  of  the  acts  of  Robertson,  founder  of  Nashville,  was  to  secure  from  the 
North  Carolina  legislature,  in  1785,  a  bill  for  the  "promotion  of  learning  in 
Davidson  County."  A  tract  of  land  was  granted,  and  the  school  organized 
as  Davidson  Academy;  this  became  Cumberland  College  in  1806.  The  year 
of  Michaux's  visit,  a  plan  was  made  for  the  erection  of  a  building,  which  was 
not  completed  until  1807,  and  now  forms  part  of  Vanderbilt  University. 

Michaux  seems  to  be  in  error  in  calling  Moses  Fisk  the  president  of  this 
college;  he  solicited  funds  to  keep  the  Academy  in  Nashville,  but  James  Craig- 
head was  president  until  1809. —  Ed. 


252  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Philadelphia,  of  which  twelve  hundred  are  by  water. 
Some  merchants  get  their  goods  also  from  New  Orleans, 
whence  the  boats  go  up  the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  and 
Cumberland.  This  last  distance  is  about  twelve  hundred 
and  forty-three  miles;  viz.  a  thousand  miles  from  New 
Orleans  to  the  embouchure  of  the  Ohio,  sixty-three  miles 
from  thence  to  Cumberland,  and  a  hundred  and  eighty 
from  this  river  to  Nasheville. 

There  are  very  few  cultivators  who  take  upon  them- 
selves to  export  the  produce  of  their  labour,  consisting 
chiefly  of  cotton;  the  major  part  of  them  sell  it  to  the 
tradespeople  at  Nasheville,  who  send  it  by  the  river  to 
New  Orleans,  where  it  is  expedited  to  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  or  exported  direct  to  Europe.  These 
tradesmen,  like  those  of  Lexinton,  do  not  pay  always  in 
cash  for  the  cotton  they  purchase,  but  make  the  cultiva- 
tors take  goods  in  exchange,  which  adds  considerably  to 
their  profit.  A  great  quantity  of  it  is  also  sent  by  land  to 
Kentucky,  where  each  family  is  supplied  with  it  to  manu- 
facture articles  for  their  domestic  wants. 

[201]  When  I  was  there  in  1802  they  made  the  first 
attempt  to  send  cottons  by  the  Ohio  to  Pittsburgh,  in 
order  to  be  thence  conveyed  to  the  remote  parts  of  Penn- 
sylvania. I  met  several  barges  laden  with  them  near 
Marietta;  they  were  going  up  the  river  with  a  staff,  and 
making  about  twenty  miles  a  day.  Thus  are  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  western  states  united  by  commercial  inter- 
ests, of  which  cotton  is  the  basis,  and  the  Ohio  the  tie  of 
communication,  the  results  of  which  must  give  a  high 
degree  of  prosperity  to  this  part  of  Tennessea,  and  insure 
its  inhabitants  a  signal  advantage  over  those  of  the  Ohio 
and  Kentucky,  the  territorial  produce  of  which  is  not  of  a 
nature  to  meet  with  a  great  sale  in  the  country  or  the  ad- 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  253 

joining  parts,  and  which  they  are  obliged  to  send  to  New 
Orleans. 

I  had  a  letter  from  Dr.  Brown,  of  Lexinton,  for  Mr. 
William  Peter  Anderson,  a  gentleman  of  the  law  at  Nashe- 
ville,  who  received  me  in  the  most  obliging  manner;  I  am 
also  indebted  to  him  for  the  acquaintance  of  several  other 
gentlemen;  among  others  was  a  Mr.  Fisk,  of  New  Eng- 
land, president  of  the  college,  with  whom  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  travelling  to  Knoxville.52  The  inhabitants  are  very 
engaging  in  their  manners,  and  use  but  little  ceremony. 
[202]  On  my  arrival,  I  had  scarcely  alighted  when  several 
of  them  who  were  at  the  inn  invited  me  to  their  plantations. 

All  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  country  who  go  by 
the  river  to  New  Orleans,  return  by  land,  pass  through 
Nasheville,  which  is  the  first  town  beyond  the  Natches. 
The  interval  that  separates  them  is  about  six  hundred 
miles,  and  entirely  uninhabited;  which  obliges  them  to 
carry  their  provisions  on  horseback  to  supply  them  on  the 
road.  It  is  true  they  have  two  or  three  little  towns  to 
cross,  inhabited  by  the  Chicasaws;  but  instead  of  re- 
cruiting their  stock  there,  the  natives  themselves  are  so 
indifferently  supplied,  that  travellers  are  obliged  to  be 
very  cautious  lest  they  should  wish  to  share  with  them. 
Several  persons  who  have  been  this  road  assured  me, 
that  for  a  space  of  four  or  five  hundred  miles  beyond  the 
Natches  the  country  is  very  irregular,  that  the  soil  is  very 
sandy,  in  some  parts  covered  with  pines,  and  not  much 
adapted  to  any  kind  of  culture;  but  that  the  borders  of 

52  This  was  Moses  Fisk,  of  Massachusetts,  who  graduated  from  Harvard  in 
the  same  class  with  Daniel  Webster.  A  man  of  considerable  fortune,  he  came 
to  Cumberland  in  the  period  after  the  Revolution,  and  was  instrumental  in 
the  educational  and  industrial  development  of  this  section.  In  1805  he  settled 
at  Hillham,  Overton  County,  which  he  hoped  to  make  an  important  city,  and 
built  many  turnpike  roads  about  it.  He  was  trustee  of  Davidson  Academy, 
and  founded  at  Hillham  an  academy  for  young  women. —  Ed. 


254  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  river  Tennessea  are,  on  the  contrary,  very  fertile,  and 
even  superior  to  the  richest  counties  in  Kentucky  and 
Tennessea. 

The  settlement  of  the  Natches,  which  is  described  by 
the  name  of  the  Mississippi  Territory,  daily  acquires 
[203]  a  fresh  degree  of  prosperity,  notwithstanding  the 
unhealthiness  of  the  climate,  which  is  such  that  three- 
fourths  of  the  inhabitants  are  every  year  exposed  to  inter- 
mittent fevers  during  the  summer  and  autumn;  neverthe- 
less, the  great  profits  derived  from  the  cotton  entice  an 
immense  number  of  foreigners  into  that  part.  The 
population  now  amounts  to  five  thousand  whites  and  three 
thousand  negro  slaves.53 

53  Natchez  was  a  prominent  frontier  town  of  the  Southwest,  which  had  had 
a  long  and  varied  history.  In  1715  the  French  of  Louisiana  established  a 
trading  post  at  this  place,  and  in  17 16  Fort  Rosalie  was  built.  Thirteen  years 
later  occurred  the  massacre  of  the  garrison  and  inhabitants  by  the  Natchez 
Indians.  While  a  fort  was  rebuilt  at  this  place,  there  seems  to  have  been 
no  settlement  during  the  remainder  of  the  French  occupation.  When  this 
territory  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English  (1763)  liberal  land  grants  were 
made,  and  Fort  Panmure  was  erected  on  the  site  of  Fort  Rosalie;  emigration 
from  the  Southern  states  and  the  East  then  came  into  this  region,  especially 
from  New  Jersey  and  Connecticut.  After  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  secure  the  neutrality  of  the  Natchez  people,  if  not  their 
co-operation  with  the  American  cause.  But  the  brutality  of  Captain  Willing, 
sent  on  this  mission  in  1778,  alienated  the  inhabitants  and  kept  them  loyal 
to  Great  Britain.  On  the  outbreak  of  war  between  England  and  Spain  (1779) 
the  Spanish  governor  Gayoso  made  an  expedition  into  West  Florida,  and  cap- 
tured Natchez  with  other  British  posts.  The  inhabitants  rebelled  and  seized 
Fort  Panmure;  but  on  the  downfall  of  Pensacola,  they  were  obliged  to  flee. 
The  Spaniards  took  possession  by  treaty  in  1783,  and  under  their  regime,  at 
the  close  of  the  American  Revolution,  a  large  immigration  took  place.  Land 
speculation  and  intrigues  ran  riot.  The  Yazoo  grants  occupied  this  territory 
in  part.  The  United  States  claimed  the  Natchez  district  as  within  her  bound- 
aries. In  the  treaty  of  1795  with  Spain,  this  claim  was  conceded,  and  a 
commission  was  appointed  to  run  a  boundary  line.  In  1798  Mississippi  Terri- 
tory was  organized,  Natchez  being  included  therein.  In  the  early  days  of  the 
Mississippi  traffic,  the  commercial  importance  of  the  place  was  second  only  to 
New  Orleans.  The  Natchez  trace,  of  which  Michaux  speaks,  was  one  of  the 
most  travelled  roads  of  the  Western  country. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  255 

The  road  that  leads  to  the  Natches  was  only  a  path 
that  serpentined  through  these  boundless  forests,  but  the 
federal  government  have  just  opened  a  road,  which  is  on 
the  point  of  being  finished,  and  will  be  one  of  the  finest 
in  the  United  States,  both  on  account  of  its  breadth  and 
the  solidity  of  the  bridges  constructed  over  the  small 
rivers  that  cut  through  it;  to  which  advantages  it  will 
unite  that  of  being  shorter  than  the  other  by  a  hundred 
miles.  Thus  we  may  henceforth,  on  crossing  the  western 
country,  go  in  a  carriage  from  Boston  to  New  Orleans, 
a  distance  of  more  than  two  thousand  miles. 

[204]  CHAP.  XXII 
Departure  jor  Knoxville. — Arrival  at  Fort  Blount. — Re- 
marks upon  the  drying  up  oj  the  Rivers  in  the  Summer. — 
Plantations  on  the  Road. — Fertility  oj  the  Soil. — Ex- 
cursions in  a  Canoe  on  the  River  Cumberland. 
On  the  5th  of  September  I  set  out  from  Nasheville  for 
Knoxville,  with  Mr.  Fisk,  sent  by  the  state  of  Tennessea 
to  determine  in  a  more  correct  manner,  in  concert  with 
the  commissaries  of  Virginia,  the  boundaries  between  the 
two  states.  We  did  not  arrive  till  the  9th  at  Fort  Blount, 
built  upon  the  river  Cumberland,  about  sixty  miles  from 
Nasheville;  we  stopped  on  the  road  with  different  friends 
of  Mr.  Fisk,  among  others,  at  the  house  of  General 
Smith,  one  of  the  oldest  inhabitants  in  the  country,  where 
he  has  resided  sixteen  or  seventeen  years.  It  is  to  him 
they  are  indebted  for  the  best  map  of  this  state,  which  is 
found  in  the  Geographical  Atlas,  published  by  Matthew 
Carey,  bookseller,  at  Philadelphia.  He  confessed  to 
me,  notwithstanding,  that  this  map,  [205]  taken  several 
years  ago,  was  in  many  respects  imperfect.  The  General 
has  a  beautiful  plantation  cultivated  in  Indian  wheat 


256  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

and  cotton ;  he  has  also  a  neat  distillery  for  peach  brandy, 
which  he  sells  at  five  shillings  per  gallon.  In  his  leisure 
hours  he  busies  himself  in  chemistry.  I  have  seen  at  his 
house  English  translations  of  the  works  of  Lavoisier  and 
Fourcroy.54 

We  likewise  saw,  en  passant,  General  Winchester,  who 
was  at  a  stone  house  that  was  building  for  him  on  the 
road;  this  mansion,  considering  the  country,  bore  the 
external  marks  of  grandeur;  it  consisted  of  four  large 
rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  one  story,  and  a  garret.  The 
workmen  employed  to  finish  the  inside  came  from  Balti- 
more, a  distance  of  nearly  seven  hundred  miles.  The 
stones  are  of  a  chalky  nature;  there  are  no  others  in  all 
that  part  of  Tennessea  except  round  flints,  which  are 
found  in  the  beds  of  some  of  the  rivers  which  come  origi- 
nally from  the  mountainous  region,  whence  they  have 
been  hurried  by  the  force  of  the  torrents.  On  the  other 
hand  there  are  so  very  few  of  the  inhabitants  that  build 
in  this  manner,  on  account  of  the  price  of  workmanship, 
masons  being  still  scarcer  than  carpenters  and  joiners. 

Not  far  from  the  General's  house  runs  a  river,  [206] 
from  forty  to  fifty  feet  wide,  which  we  crossed  dry-footed. 
Its  banks  in  certain  places  are  upwards  of  twenty-five 
feet  high,  the  bottom  of  its  bed  is  formed  with  flag  stones, 
furrowed  by  small  grooves,  about  three  or  four  inches 
broad,  and  as  many  deep,  through  which  the  water 
flowed;  but  on  the  contrary  the  tide  is  so  high  in  winter, 
that  by  means  of  a  lock,  they  stop  a  sufficient  quantity  to 
turn  a  mill,  situated  more  than  thirty  feet  in  height. 

54  General  Daniel  Smith,  born  in  Virginia  about  1740,  migrated  to  Tennessee 
at  an  early  age,  and  was  first  secretary  of  the  territory  south  of  the  Ohio 
(1790-96),  United  States  senator  (1798-99  and  1805-09),  and  major  general 
of  militia.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  early  pioneers,  a  man  of 
education  and  wealth,  and  his  home  in  Sumner  County  was  the  seat  of  wide 
hospitality. — Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic /mux's  Travels  257 

We  had  now  passed  several  of  these  rivers  that  we 
could  have  strided  over,  but  which,  during  the  season,  are 
crossed  by  means  of  ferry-boats. 

A  few  miles  from  General  Winchester's  plantation,  and 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  road,  is  situated  a  small  town, 
founded  within  these  few  years,  and  to  which  they  have 
given  the  name  of  Cairo,  in  memory  of  the  taking  of 
Cairo  by  the  French. 

Between  Nasheville  and  Fort  Blount  the  plantations, 
although  always  isolated  in  the  woods,  are  nevertheless, 
upon  the  road,  within  two  or  three  miles  of  each  other. 
The  inhabitants  live  in  comfortable  log  houses;  the  major 
part  keep  negroes,  and  appear  to  live  happy  and  in 
abundance.  For  the  whole  of  this  space  the  soil  is  but 
slightly  undulated  at  times  very  even,  and  in  general 
excellent;  in  consequence  of  [207]  which  the  forests  look 
very  beautiful.  It  is  in  particular,  at  Dixon's  Spring, 
fifty  miles  from  Nasheville,  and  a  few  miles  on  this  side 
Major  Dixon's,  where  I  sojourned  a  day  and  a  half,  that 
we  remarked  this  great  fertility.  We  saw  again  in  the 
environs  a  considerable  mass  of  forests,  filled  with  those 
canes  or  reeds  I  have  before  mentioned,  and  which  grow 
so  close  to  each  other,  that  at  the  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
feet  a  man  could  not  be  perceived  was  he  concealed  there. 
Their  tufted  foliage  presents  a  mass  of  verdure  that  diverts 
the  sight  amid  these  still  and  gloomy  forests.  I  have 
before  remarked  that,  in  proportion  as  new  plantations 
are  formed,  these  canes  in  a  few  years  disappear,  as  the 
cattle  prefer  the  leaves  of  them  to  any  other  kind  of 
vegetables,  and  destroy  them  still  more  by  breaking  the 
body  of  the  plant  while  browzing  on  the  top  of  the  stalks. 
The  pigs  contribute  also  to  this  destruction,  by  raking  up 
the  ground  in  order  to  search  for  the  young  roots. 


258  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Fort  Blount  was  constructed  about  eighteen  years  ago, 
to  protect  the  emigrants  who  came  at  that  time  to  settle 
in  Cumberland,  against  the  attacks  of  the  natives,  who 
declared  a  perpetual  war  against  them,  in  order  to  drive 
them  out;  but  peace  having  been  concluded  with  them, 
and  the  population  being  [208]  much  increased,  they 
have  been  reduced  to  the  impossibility  of  doing  them 
farther  harm,  and  the  Fort  has  been  destroyed.  There 
now  exists  on  this  spot  a  beautiful  plantation,  belonging 
to  Captain  William  Samson,  with  whom  Mr.  Fisk  usually 
resides.  During  the  two  days  that  we  stopped  at  his 
house,  I  went  in  a  canoe  up  the  river  Cumberland  for 
several  miles.  This  mode  of  reconnoitring  the  natural 
productions  still  more  various  upon  the  bank  of  the  rivers, 
is  preferable  to  any  other,  especially  when  the  rivers  are 
like  the  latter,  bounded  by  enormous  rocks,  which  are  so 
very  steep,  that  scarcely  any  person  ventures  to  ascend 
their  lofty  heights.  In  these  excursions  I  enriched  my 
collections  with  several  seeds  of  trees  and  plants  peculiar 
to  the  country,  and  divers  other  objects  of  natural  history. 

[209]  CHAP.  XXIII 
Departure  from  Fort  Blount  to  West  Point,  through  the 
Wilderness. — Botanical  excursions  upon  Roaring  River. 
— Description  0}  its  Banks. —  Saline  productions  found 
there. — Indian  Cherokees. — Arrival  at  Knoxville. 

On  the  nth  of  September  we  went  from  Fort  Blount  to 
the  house  of  a  Mr.  Blackborn,  whose  plantation,  situated 
fifteen  miles  from  this  fortress,  is  the  last  that  the  whites 
possess  on  this  side  the  line,  that  separates  the  territory 
of  the  United  States  from  that  of  the  Indian  Cherokees. 
This  line  presents,  as  far  as  West  Point  upon  the  Clinch, 
a  country  uninhabited  upward  of  eighty  miles  in  breadth, 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  259 

to  which  they  give  the  name  of  the  Wilderness,  and  of 
which  the  mountains  of  Cumberland  occupy  a  great  part. 
As  Mr.  Fisk  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  court  of  justice, 
which  is  held  a  few  miles  from  thence  in  the  county  [210] 
of  Jackson;  we  deferred  crossing  the  Wilderness  for  a 
few  days,  and  I  profited  by  his  absence  to  go  and  see 
Roaring  River,  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Cumberland. 
This  river,  from  ten  to  fifteen  fathoms  broad,  received 
its  name  from  the  confused  noise  that  is  heard  a  mile  dis- 
tant, and  which  is  occasioned  by  falls  of  water  produced 
by  the  sudden  lapse  of  its  bed,  formed  by  large  flat  stones 
contiguous  to  each  other.  These  falls,  from  six,  eight, 
to  ten  feet  high,  are  so  near  together,  that  several  of  them 
are  to  be  seen  within  the  space  of  fifty  to  a  hundred 
fathoms.  We  observed  in  the  middle  of  this  river,  great 
stones,  from  five  to  six  feet  in  diameter,  completely  round, 
and  of  which  nobody  could  form  the  least  idea  how  they 
could  have  been  conveyed  there. 

The  right  bank  of  Roaring  River  rises  in  some  places 
from  eighty  to  a  hundred  feet,  and  surmounted  at  this 
height  by  rocks  that  jet  out  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  and 
which  cover  again  thick  beds  of  ferruginous  schiste, 
situated  horizontally.  The  flakes  they  consist  of  are  so 
soft  and  brittle,  that  as  soon  as  they  are  touched,  they 
break  off  in  pieces  of  a  foot  long,  and  fall  into  a  kind  of 
dust,  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  imperceptibly  under- 
mines the  rocks.  Upon  the  flakes  of  schiste  that  are  least 
exposed  to  the  air  [211]  and  water,  we  observed  a  kind  of 
white  efflorescence,  extremely  thin,  and  very  similar  to  snow. 

There  exists  again  upon  the  banks  of  this  river,  and 
in  other  parts  of  Cumberland,  immense  caverns,  where 
there  are  masses  of  aluminous  substances,  within  so 
small  a  degree  of  the  purity  necessary  to  be  employed  in 


26  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

dyeing,  that  the  inhabitants  not  only  go  to  fetch  it  for 
their  own  use,  but  export  it  to  Kentucky.  They  cut  it 
into  pieces  with  an  axe;  but  nobody  is  acquainted  there 
with  the  process  used  on  the  Old  Continent  to  prepare 
the  different  substances,  as  it  is  found  in  trade. 

Large  rivulets,  after  having  serpentined  in  the  forests, 
terminate  their  windings  at  the  steep  banks  of  this  river, 
whence  they  fall  murmuring  into  its  bed,  and  form  mag- 
nificent cascades  several  fathoms  wide.  The  perpetual 
humidity  that  these  cascades  preserve  in  these  places 
gives  birth  to  a  multitude  of  plants  which  grow  in  the 
midst  of  a  thick  moss,  with  which  the  rock  is  covered, 
and  which  forms  the  most  beautiful  verdant  carpet. 

All  these  circumstances  give  the  borders  of  Roaring 
River  a  cool  and  pleasing  aspect,  which  I  had  never  wit- 
nessed before  on  the  banks  of  other  rivers.  A  [212] 
charming  variety  of  trees  and  shrubs  are  also  seen  there, 
which  are  to  be  met  with  no  where  else.  We  observed 
the  magnolia  auriculata,  macrophilla,  cordata,  acuminata, 
and  tripetala.  The  fruit  of  these  trees,  so  remarkable 
for  the  beauty  of  their  flowers  and  superb  foliage,  were  in 
the  highest  perfection.  I  gathered  a  few  seeds  to  multi- 
ply them  in  France,  and  to  add  to  the  embellishment  of 
our  gardens.  These  seeds  grow  rancid  very  soon.  I 
endeavoured  to  remedy  this  inconvenience  by  putting 
them  into  fresh  moss,  which  I  renewed  every  fortnight  till 
my  return  to  Carolina,  where  I  continued  the  same  pre- 
cautions till  the  epoch  of  my  embarking  for  Europe.  I 
have  since  had  the  satisfaction  to  see  that  my  pains  were 
not  fruitless,  and  that  I  succeeded  by  this  means  in  pre- 
serving their  germinative  faculty. 

Major  Russel,  with  whom  I  went  to  lodge  after  I  had 
taken  my  leave  of  Mr.  Blackborn,  and  where  Mr.  Fisk 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  261 

rejoined  me,  furnished  us  very  obligingly  with  necessary 
provisions  for  the  two  days  journey  through  the  territory 
of  the  Cherokees.  Notwithstanding  the  harmony  that 
at  present  subsists  between  the  whites  and  these  Indians, 
it  is  always  more  prudent  to  travel  five  or  six  in  a  party. 
Nevertheless  as  we  were  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  usual  place  of  rendezvous,  where  the  travellers  put  up, 
we  resolved  [213]  to  set  out  alone,  and  we  arrived  happily 
at  West  Point.  This  country  is  exceedingly  mountain- 
ous, we  could  not  make  above  forty-five  miles  the  first 
day,  although  we  travelled  till  midnight.  We  encamped 
near  a  small  river,  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  grass ; 
and  after  having  made  a  fire  we  slept  in  our  rugs,  keeping 
watch  alternately  in  order  to  guard  our  horses,  and  make 
them  feed  close  by  us  for  fear  of  the  natives,  who  some- 
times steal  them  in  spite  of  all  the  precaution  a  traveller 
can  take,  as  their  dexterity  in  that  point  exceeds  all  that 
a  person  can  imagine.  During  this  day's  journey  we  saw 
nothing  but  wild  turkies,  thirty  or  forty  in  a  flight. 

The  second  day  after  our  departure  we  met  a  party  of 
eight  or  ten  Indians,  who  were  searching  for  grapes  and 
chinquapins,  a  species  of  small  chesnuts,  superior  in 
taste  to  those  in  Europe.  As  we  had  only  twenty  miles 
to  go  before  we  reached  West  Point,  we  gave  them  the 
remainder  of  our  provisions,  with  which  they  were  highly 
delighted.  Bread  is  a  great  treat  for  them,  their  usual 
food  consisting  of  nothing  but  venison  and  wild  fowl. 

The  road  that  crosses  this  part  of  the  Indian  territory 
cuts  through  the  mountains  in  Cumberland;  it  is  as 
broad  and  commodious  as  those  in  the  environs  of  Phila- 
delphia, in  consequence  of  the  amazing  number  [214] 
of  emigrants  that  travel  through  it  to  go  and  settle  in  the 
western  country.     It  is,  notwithstanding,  in  some  places 


262  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

very  rugged,  but  nothing  near  so  much  as  the  one  that 
leads  from  Strasburgh  to  Bedford  in  Pennsylvania. 
About  forty  miles  from  Nasheville  we  met  an  emigrant 
family  in  a  carriage,  followed  by  their  negroes  on  foot, 
that  had  performed  their  journey  without  any  accident. 
Little  boards  painted  black  and  nailed  upon  the  trees 
every  three  miles,  indicate  to  travellers  the  distance  they 
have  to  go. 

In  this  part  of  Tennessea  the  mass  of  the  forests  is 
composed  of  all  the  species  of  trees  that  belong  more 
particularly  to  the  mountainous  regions  of  North  America, 
such  as  oaks,  maples,  and  nut  trees.  Pines  abound  in 
those  parts  where  the  soil  is  the  worst.  What  appeared 
to  me  very  extraordinary  was,  to  find  some  parts  of  the 
woods,  for  the  space  of  several  miles,  where  all  the  pines 
that  formed  at  least  one  fifth  part  of  the  other  trees  were 
dead  since  the  preceding  year,  and  still  kept  all  their 
withered  foliage.  I  was  not  able  to  learn  the  causes  that 
produced  this  singular  phenomenon.  I  only  heard  that 
the  same  thing  happens  every  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 

At  West  Point  is  established  a  fort,  pallisadoed  round 
with  trees,  built  upon  a  lofty  eminence,  at  the  [215]  con- 
flux of  the  rivers  Clinch  and  Holston.  The  fedral  gov- 
ernment maintain  a  company  of  soldiers  there,  the  aim 
of  which  is  to  hold  the  Indians  in  respect,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  protect  them  against  the  inhabitants  on  the  fron- 
tiers, whose  illiberal  proceedings  excite  them  frequently 
to  war.  The  objects  of  these  insults  were  to  drive  them 
from  their  possessions ;  but  the  government  has  prevented 
this  fruitless  source  of  broils  and  wars,  by  declaring  that 
all  the  possessions  occupied  by  the  Indians  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  United  States,  comprise  a  part  of  their 
domains. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  263 

The  following  trait  will  give  an  idea  of  the  ferocious 
disposition  of  some  of  these  Americans  on  the  frontiers. 
One  of  them  belonging  to  the  environs  of  Fort  Blount, 
had  lost  one  of  his  horses,  which  had  strayed  from  his 
plantation  and  penetrated  some  distance  into  the  Indian 
territory.  About  a  fortnight  after  it  was  brought  to  him 
by  two  Cherokees;  they  were  scarcely  fifty  yards  from 
the  house  when  the  owner  perceiving  them,  killed  one 
upon  the  spot  with  his  carabine;  the  other  fled  and  car- 
ried the  news  to  his  fellow-countrymen.  The  murderer 
was  thrown  into  prison;  but  was  afterwards  released  for 
the  want  of  evidence,  although  he  stood  convicted  in  the 
eyes  [216]  of  every  one.  During  the  time  he  was  in 
prison  the  Indians  suspended  their  resentment,  in  hopes 
that  the  death  of  their  fellow-countryman  would  be  re- 
venged; but  scarcely  were  they  informed  that  he  was  set 
at  liberty  when  they  killed  a  white,  at  more  than  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  from  the  place  where  the  first  murder  had 
been  committed.  To  the  present  moment  we  have  never 
been  able  to  make  the  Indians  comprehend  that  punish- 
ment should  only  fall  upon  the  guilty;  they  conceive  that 
the  murder  of  one  or  more  of  their  people  ought  to  be 
avenged  by  the  death  of  an  equal  number  of  individuals 
belonging  to  the  nation  of  that  person  who  committed 
the  deed.  This  is  a  custom  they  will  not  renounce,  more 
especially  if  the  person  so  murdered  belongs  to  a  distin- 
guished family,  as  among  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  there 
exists  a  superior  class  to  the  common  of  the  nation. 
These  Indians  are  above  the  middling  stature,  well  pro- 
portioned, and  healthy  in  appearance,  notwithstanding 
the  long  fasting  they  frequently  endure  in  pursuit  of 
animals,  the  flesh  of  which  forms  their  chief  subsistence. 
The  carabine  is  the  only  weapon  they  make  use  of;  they 


264  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

are  very  dexterous  with  it,  and  kill  at  a  very  great  dis- 
tance. The  usual  dress  of  the  men  consists  of  a  shirt, 
a  VEuropeene,  which  [217]  hangs  loose,  and  of  a  slip  of 
blue  cloth  about  half  a  yard  in  length,  which  serves  them 
as  breeches;  they  put  it  between  their  thighs,  and  fasten 
the  two  ends,  before  and  behind,  to  a  sort  of  girdle.  They 
wear  long  gaiters,  and  shoes  of  stag  skins  prepared. 
When  full  dressed  they  wear  a  coat,  waistcoat,  and  hat, 
but  never  any  breeches.  The  natives  of  North  America 
have  never  been  able  to  adopt  that  part  of  our  dress. 
They  have  only  on  the  top  of  their  heads  a  tuft  of  hair, 
of  which  they  make  several  tresses,  that  hang  down  the 
sides  of  the  face,  and  very  frequently  they  attach  quills 
or  little  silver  tubes  to  the  extremities.  A  great  number 
of  them  pierce  their  noses,  in  order  to  put  rings  through, 
and  cut  holes  in  their  ears,  that  hang  down  two  or  three 
inches,  by  the  means  of  pieces  of  lead  that  they  fasten  to 
them  when  they  are  quite  young.  They  paint  their 
faces  red,  blue,  or  black. 

A  man's  shirt  and  a  short  petticoat  form  the  dress  of 
the  women,  who  wear  also  gaiters  like  the  men;  they  let 
their  hair  grow,  which  is  always  of  a  jet  black,  to  its 
natural  length,  but  they  never  pierce  their  noses,  nor 
disfigure  their  ears.  In  winter,  the  men  and  women, 
in  order  to  guard  against  the  cold,  wrap  themselves  in  a 
blue  rug,  which  they  always  [218]  carry  with  them,  and 
which  forms  an  essential  part  of  their  luggage. 

Near  the  fort  is  established  a  kind  of  warehouse  where 
the  Cherokees  carry  ginseng  and  furs,  consisting  chiefly 
of  bear,  stag,  and  otter  skins.  They  give  them  in  ex- 
change for  coarse  stuffs,  knives,  hatchets,  and  other  arti- 
cles that  they  stand  in  need  of. 

I  learnt  at  West  Point,  of  several  persons  who  make 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  265 

frequent  journies  among  the  Cherokees  that  within  these 
few  years  they  take  to  the  cultivating  of  their  possessions, 
and  that  they  make  a  rapid  progress.  Some  of  them  have 
good  plantations,  and  even  negro  slaves.  Several  of  the 
women  spin  and  manufacture  cotton  stuffs.  The  federal 
government  devotes  annually  a  sum  to  supply  them  with 
instruments  necessary  for  agriculture  and  different  trades. 
Being  pressed  for  time  I  could  not  penetrate  farther  into 
the  interior  of  the  country,  as  I  had  intended,  and  I  did 
not  profit  by  the  letters  of  recommendation  that  Mr.  W. 
P.  Anderson  had  given  me  for  that  purpose  to  the  garri- 
son-officers in  the  fort. 

They  reckon  thirty-five  miles  from  West  Point  to 
Knoxville.  About  a  mile  from  West  Point  we  passed 
through  Kingstown,  composed  of  thirty  or  forty  log 
houses;  after  that  the  road  runs  upwards  of  eighteen 
[219]  miles  through  a  rugged  and  flinty  soil,  although 
covered  with  a  kind  of  grass.  The  trees  that  occupy  this 
extent  grow  within  twenty  or  thirty  yards  of  each  other, 
which  makes  it  seem  as  though  this  district  changes  from 
the  appearance  of  a  meadow  to  that  of  a  forest.  After 
this  the  soil  grows  better,  and  the  plantations  are  not  so 
far  apart. 

[220]  CHAP.  XXIV 
Knoxville. —  Commercial   intelligence. — Trees    that   grow 
in  the  environs. —  Converting  some  parts  of  the  Mead- 
ows into  Forests. —  River  Nolachuky. —  Greensville. — 
Arrival  at  Jonesborough. 

Knoxville,  the  seat  of  government  belonging  to  the 
state  of  Tennessea,  is  situate  upon  the  river  Holston,  in 
this  part  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms  broad.  The 
houses  that  compose  it  are  about  two  hundred  in  number, 


266  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

and  chiefly  built  of  wood.  Although  founded  eighteen 
or  twenty  years  ago,  this  little  town  does  not  yet  possess 
any  kind  of  establishment  or  manufactory,  except  two 
or  three  tan  yards.  Trade,  notwithstanding,  is  brisker 
here  than  at  Nasheville.  The  shops,  though  very  few  in 
[221]  number,  are  in  general  better  stocked.  The  trades- 
people get  their  provisions  by  land  from  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  and  Richmond  in  Virginia;  and  they  send 
in  return,  by  the  same  way,  the  produce  of  the  country, 
which  they  buy  of  the  cultivators,  or  take  in  barter  for 
their  goods.  Baltimore  and  Richmond  are  the  towns 
with  which  this  part  of  the  country  does  most  business. 
The  price  of  conveyance  from  Baltimore  is  six  or  seven 
dollars  per  hundred  weight.  They  reckon  seven  hundred 
miles  from  this  town  to  Knoxville,  six  hundred  and  forty 
from  Philadelphia,  and  four  hundred  and  twenty  from 
Richmond. 

They  send  flour,  cotton  and  lime  to  New  Orleans  by 
the  river  Tennessea;  but  this  way  is  not  so  much  fre- 
quented by  the  trade,  the  navigation  of  this  river  being 
very  much  encumbered  in  two  different  places  by  shal- 
lows interspersed  with  rocks.  They  reckon  about  six 
hundred  miles  from  Knoxville  to  the  embouchure  of  the 
Tennessea  in  the  Ohio,  and  thirty-eight  miles  thence  to 
that  of  the  Ohio  in  the  Mississippi. 

[222]  We  alighted  at  Knoxville  at  the  house  of  one 
Haynes,  the  sign  of  the  General  Washington,  the  best 
inn  in  the  town.  Travellers  and  their  horses  are  accom- 
modated there  at  the  rate  of  five  shillings  per  day;  though 
this  is  rather  dear  for  a  country  where  the  situation  is  by 
no  means  favourable  to  the  sale  of  provisions,  which  they 
are  obliged  to  send  to  more  remote  parts.  The  reason 
of  things  being  so  dear  proceeds  from  the  desire  of  grow- 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux 's  Travels  267 

ing  rich  in  a  short  time,  a  general  desire  in  the  United 
States,  where  every  man  who  exercises  a  profession  or  art 
wishes  to  get  a  great  deal  by  it,  and  does  not  content  him- 
self with  a  moderate  profit,  as  they  do  in  Europe. 

There  is  a  newspaper  printed  at  Knoxville55  which 
comes  out  twice  a  week,  and  written  and  published  by 
Mr.  Roulstone,  a  fellow-countryman  and  friend  of  my 
travelling  companion,  Mr.  Fisk.  It  is  very  remarkable 
that  most  of  the  emigrants  from  New  England  have  an 
ascendancy  over  the  others  in  point  of  morals,  industry, 
and  knowledge. 

[223]  On  the  17th  of  September  I  took  leave  of  Mr. 
Fisk,  and  proceeded  towards  Jonesborough,  about  a 
hundred  miles  from  Knoxville,  and  situate  at  the  foot 
of  the  lofty  mountains  that  separate  North  Carolina  from 
the  state  of  Tennessea.  On  leaving  Knoxville  the  soil 
is  uneven,  stony  and  very  indifferent,  of  which  it  is  an 
easy  thing  to  judge  by  the  quantity  of  pines,  or  pinus 
mitis,  that  are  in  the  forests.  We  also  found  there  an 
abundance  of  Chinquapin  oaks,  or  quercus  prinus  Chin- 
quapin, that  seldom  grow  above  three  feet  high,  some  of 
which  were  that  year  so  loaded  with  acorns  that  they  were 
bent  to  the  ground.  The  sorel-tree,  or  andromeda  arbo- 
rea,  is  also  very  common.  This  tree,  that  rises  about 
forty  feet  in  the  mountains,  would  be  one  of  the  most 
splendid  ornaments  for  our  gardens,  on  account  of  its 
opening  clusters  of  white  flowers.  Its  leaves  are  very 
acid,  and  many  of  the  inhabitants  prefer  them  to  shumac 
for  dyeing  cottons. 

I  crossed  the  river  Holston  at  Macby,  about  fifteen  miles 

55  The  newspaper  referred  to  by  Michaux  was  established  by  George  Roul- 
stone at  Rogersville  in  1791;  later  it  was  removed  to  the  capital,  and  called  the 
Knoxville  Gazette. —  Ed. 


268  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

from  Knoxville;  here  the  soil  grows  better,  [224]  and  the 
plantations  are  nearer  together,  although  not  immediately 
within  sight  of  each  other.  At  some  distance  from 
Macby  the  road,  for  the  space  of  two  miles,  runs  by  the 
side  of  a  copse,  extremely  full  of  young  suckers,  the  high- 
est of  which  was  not  above  twenty  feet.  As  I  had  never 
seen  any  part  of  a  forest  so  composed  before,  I  made  an 
observation  of  it  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  who 
told  me  that  this  place  was  formerly  part  of  a  barren,  or 
meadow,  which  had  naturally  clothed  itself  again  with 
trees,  that  fifteen  years  since  they  had  been  totally 
destroyed  by  fire,  in  order  to  clear  the  land,  which  is  a 
common  practice  in  all  the  southern  states.  This  exam- 
ple appears  to  demonstrate  that  the  spacious  meadows 
in  Kentucky  and  Tennessea  owe  their  birth  to  some  great 
conflagration  that  has  consumed  the  forests,  and  that 
they  are  kept  up  as  meadows  by  the  custom  that  is  still 
practised  of  annually  setting  them  on  fire.  In  these  con- 
flagrations, when  chance  preserves  any  part  from  the 
ravages  of  the  flame,  for  a  certain  number  of  years  they 
are  re-stocked  with  trees;  but  [225]  as  it  is  then  extremely 
thick,  the  fire  burns  them  completely  down,  and  reduce^ 
them  again  to  a  sort  of  meadow.  We  may  thence  con- 
clude, that  in  these  parts  of  the  country  the  meadows 
encroach  continually  upon  the  forests.  The  same  has 
probably  taken  place  in  Upper  Louisiana  and  New 
Mexico,  which  are  only  immense  plains,  burnt  annually 
by  the  natives,  and  where  there  is  not  a  tree  to  be 
found. 

I  stopped  the  first  day  at  a  place  where  most  of  the 
inhabitants  are  Quakers,  who  came  fifteen  or  eighteen 
years  since  from  Pennsylvania.     The  one  with  whom 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  269 

I  lodged  had  an  excellent  plantation,  and  his  log-house 
was  divided  into  two  rooms,  which  is  very  uncommon 
in  that  part  of  the  country.  Around  the  house  magnifi- 
cent apple-trees  were  planted,  which,  although  produced 
from  pips,  bore  fruit  of  an  extraordinary  size  and  luxuri- 
ance in  taste,  which  proves  how  well  this  country  is 
adapted  for  the  culture  of  fruit  trees.  Here,  as  well  as  in 
Kentucky,  they  give  the  preference  to  the  peach,  on 
account  of  their  [226]  making  brandy  with  it.  At  the 
same  house  where  I  stopped  there  were  two  emigrant 
families,  forming  together  ten  or  twelve  persons,  who 
were  going  to  settle  in  Tennessea.  Their  ragged  clothes* 
and  the  miserable  appearance  of  their  children,  who  were 
bare-footed  and  in  their  shirts,  was  a  plain  indication 
of  their  poverty,  a  circumstance  by  no  means  uncommon 
in  the  United  States.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  in  the 
western  country  that  the  riches  of  the  inhabitants  consist 
in  specie ;  for  I  am  persuaded  that  not  one  in  ten  of  them 
are  in  possession  of  a  single  dollar;  still  each  enjoys  him- 
self at  home  with  the  produce  of  his  estate,  and  the  money 
arising  from  the  sale  of  a  horse  or  a  few  cows  is  always 
more  than  sufficient  to  procure  him  the  secondary  articles 
that  come  from  England. 

The  following  day  I  passed  by  the  iron-works,  situate 
about  thirty  miles  from  Knoxville,  where  I  stopped  some 
time  to  get  a  sample  of  the  native  ore.  The  iron  that 
proceeds  from  it  they  say  is  of  an  excellent  quality.  The 
road  at  this  place  divides  into  [227]  two  branches,  both 
of  which  lead  to  Jonesborough ;  but  as  I  wanted  to  survey 
the  banks  of  the  river  Nolachuky,  so  renowned  in  that 
part  of  the  country  for  their  fertility,  I  took  the  right, 
although  it  was  rather  longer,  and  not  so  much  frequented- 


270  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

About  six  or  seven  miles  from  the  iron-works  we  found 
upon  the  road  small  rock  crystals,  two  or  three  inches 
long,  and  beautifully  transparent.  The  facets  of  the 
pyramids  that  terminate  the  two  extremities  of  the  prism 
are  perfectly  equal  with  respect  to  size,  they  are  loose, 
and  disseminated  in  a  reddish  kind  of  earth,  and  rather 
clayey.  In  less  than  ten  minutes  I  picked  up  forty. 
Arrived  on  the  boundaries  of  the  river  Nolachuky,  I  did 
not  observe  any  species  of  trees  or  plants  that  I  had  not 
seen  elsewhere,  except  a  few  poplars  and  horse-chesnuts, 
which  bore  a  yellow  blossom.  Some  of  these  poplars 
were  five  or  six  feet  in  diameter,  perfectly  straight,  and 
free  from  branches  for  thirty  or  forty  feet  from  the 
earth. 

On  the  21st  I  arrived  at  Greenville,  which  contains 
scarcely  forty  houses,  constructed  with  square  [228] 
beams  something  like  the  log-houses.  They  reckon 
twenty-five  miles  from  this  place  to  Jonesborough.  In 
this  space  the  country  is  slightly  mountainous,  the  soil 
more  adapted  to  the  culture  of  corn  than  that  of  Indian 
wheat,  and  the  plantations  are  situated  upon  the  road, 
two  or  three  miles  distant  from  each  other. 

Jonesborough,  the  last  town  in  Tennessea,  is  composed 
of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  houses,  built  of  wood,  and 
disposed  on  both  sides  the  road.  Four  or  five  respecta- 
ble shops  are  established  there,  and  the  tradespeople 
who  keep  them  have  their  goods  from  Richmond  and 
Baltimore.  All  kinds  of  English-manufactured  goods 
are  as  dear  here  as  at  Knoxville.  A  newspaper  in  folio 
is  published  at  this  town  twice  a  week.  Periodical  sheets 
are  the  only  works  that  have  ever  been  printed  in  the 
towns  or  villages  situate  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  271 

[229]  CHAP.  XXV 

General  observations  on  the  State  0}  Tennessea. — Rivers 
Cumberland  and  Tennessea. — What  is  meant  by  East 
Tennessea  or  Holston,  and  West  Tennessea  or  Cumber- 
land. — First  settlements  in  West  Tennessea. — Trees 
natives  oj  that  country. 

The  state  of  Tennessea  is  situated  between  35  and  36 
deg.  30  min.  latitude,  and  80  and  90  deg.  30  min.  longi- 
tude. It  is  bounded  north  by  Kentucky,  south  by  the 
territories  belonging  to  the  Indian  Cherokees  and  Chac- 
taws,  west  by  the  Ohio,  and  east  by  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains, which  separate  it  from  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina. Its  extent  in  breadth  is  nearly  a  hundred  and  three 
miles  [230]  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  in  length.  Prior 
to  the  year  1796,  the  epoch  of  its  being  admitted  into  the 
Union,  this  country  comprised  a  part  of  North  Carolina. 
The  two  principal  rivers  are  the  Cumberland  and  Ten- 
nessea, which  flow  into  the  Ohio  eleven  miles  distant  from 
each  other,  and  are  separated  by  the  chain  of  mountains 
in  Cumberland. 

The  river  Cumberland,  known  to  the  French  Canadians 
by  the  name  of  the  river  Shavanon,  derives  its  source  in 
Kentucky,  amidst  the  mountains  that  separate  it  from 
Virginia.  Its  course  is  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 
miles.  It  is  navigable,  in  winter  and  spring,  for  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  its  embouchure;  but  in  sum- 
mer, not  above  fifty  miles  from  Nasheville.  The  river 
Tennessea,  named  by  the  French  Canadians  the  Chero- 
kee River,  is  the  most  considerable  of  all  those  that  empty 
themselves  into  the  Ohio.  It  begins  at  West  Point,  where 
it  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Clinch  and  Hoi- 


272  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

ston,  which  derive  their  source  in  that  part  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains  situated  in  Virginia,  each  of  [231] 
which  are  more  than  a  hundred  fathoms  broad  at  their 
embouchure.  Both  are  navigable  to  an  immense  dis- 
tance, and  particularly  the  Holston,  which  is  so  for  two 
hundred  miles.  The  river  French  Broad,  one  of  the 
principal  branches  of  the  Holston,  receives  its  waters  from 
the  Nolachuky,  is  about  twenty  fathoms  broad,  and  is 
navigable  in  the  spring.  Thus  the  Tennessea,  with  the 
Holston,  has,  in  the  whole,  a  navigable  course  for  near 
eight  hundred  miles:"  but  this  navigation  is  interrupted 
six  months  in  the  year  by  the  muscle  shoals,  a  kind  of 
shallows  interspersed  with  rocks,  which  are  met  with 
in  its  bed  two  hundred  miles  from  its  embouchure  in  the 
Ohio.  From  West  Point  the  borders  of  this  great  river 
are  yet  almost  entirely  uninhabited.  The  signification 
of  the  name  of  Tennessea,  which  it  bears,  is  unknown 
to  the  Cherokees  and  Chactaws  that  occupied  this  country 
before  the  whites.  Mr.  Fisk,  who  has  had  several  con- 
versations with  these  Indians,  never  heard  any  precise 
account;  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  most  likely  that 
this  name  has  [232]  been  given  to  it  by  the  nation  that  the 
Cherokees  succeeded.56 

The  Cumberland  Mountains  are  but  a  continuation  of 
Laurel  Mountain,  which  itself  is  one  of  the  principal  links 
of  the  Alleghanies.  These  mountains,  on  the  confines  of 
Virginia,  incline  more  toward  the  west,  and  by  the  direc- 
tion which  they  take,  cut  obliquely  in  two  the  state  of 
Tennessea,  which,  in  consequence,  divides  East  and  West 
Tennessea  into  two  parts,  both  primitively  known  by  the 
names  of  Hhe   Holston    and    Cumberland    settlements, 

M  The  derivation  of  the  word  ' '  Tennessee ' '  is  variously  given :  as  from  a 
village  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,  "Tanase;"  a  Cherokee  word  meaning  "curved 
spoon;"  or  from  the  Taensa  Indians  of  the  Natchesan  family,  who  lived  in 
Louisiana  within  historic  times. —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  273 

and  which  afford  each  a  different  aspect,  both  by  the 
nature  of  the  country,  and  by  the  productions  that  grow 
there. 

West  Tennessea  comprises  two-thirds  of  this  state. 
The  greater  part  of  it  reposes  upon  a  bank  of  chalky 
substance  of  the  same  nature,  the  beds  of  which  are  hori- 
zontal. The  stratum  of  vegetable  earth  with  which  it 
is  covered  appears  generally  not  so  thick  as  in  Kentucky, 
and  participates  less  of  the  clayey  nature.  It  is  usually, 
in  point  of  colour,  of  [233]  a  dark  brown,  without  the 
least  mixture  of  stony  substances.  The  forests  that 
cover  the  country  clearly  indicate  how  favourable  the  soil 
is  for  vegetation,  as  most  of  the  trees  acquire  a  very  large 
diameter.  Iron  mines  are  also  as  scarce  there  as  in  Ken- 
tucky; and  provided  any  new  ones  were  discovered,  they 
would  have  been  worked  immediately,  since  the  iron  that  is 
imported  from  Pennsylvania  is  at  such  an  enormous  price. 

The  secondary  rivers  which  in  this  part  of  Tennessea 
run  into  Cumberland  are  almost  completely  dry  during 
the  summer;  and  it  is  probable  enough,  that  when  the 
population  grows  more  numerous,  and  the  plantations  are 
formed  farther  from  their  banks,  the  want  of  water  will 
be  more  severely  felt  in  this  part  than  in  Kentucky. 
There  are,  notwithstanding,  several  large  rivulets  or 
creeks  that  issue  from  excavations  that  are  found  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  in  different  parts  of  the  country:  at 
the  same  time  it  has  been  remarked  that  these  kind  of 
sources  never  fail,  although  the  water  is  not  so  deep  in 
summer.  [234]  Just  at  the  mouth  of  these  subterraneous 
passages  they  are  sometimes  accompanied  with  a  current 
of  air  strong  enough  to  extinguish  a  light.  I  observed 
this  particularly  myself  at  the  spring  of  the  rivulet  called 
Dixon's  Spring,  and  of  another  situated  about  four  miles 
from  Nasheville. 


274  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

It  was  in  1780  that  the  whites  first  made  the  attempt 
to  travel  over  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  and  to  settle 
in  the  environs  of  Nasheville;  but  the  emigrants  were  not 
very  numerous  there  till  the  year  1789.  They  had  to 
support,  for  several  years,  a  bloody  war  against  the  Indian 
Cherokees,  and  till  1795  the  settlements  at  Hoist  on  and 
Kentucky  communicated  with  those  in  Cumberland  by 
caravans,  for  the  sake  of  travelling  in  safety  over  so  ex- 
tensive a  tract  of  uninhabited  country  that  separated  them; 
but  for  these  five  or  six  years  past,  since  peace  has  been 
made  with  the  natives,  the  communications  formed  be- 
tween the  countries  are  perfectly  established;  and  al- 
though not  much  frequented,  they  travel  there  with  as 
much  safety  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  Atlantic  states. 

[235]  This  country  having  been  populated  after  that  of 
Kentucky,  every  measure  was  taken  at  the  commencement 
to  avoid  the  great  confusion  that  exists  concerning  the 
right  of  property  in  the  latter  state;  at  the  same  time  the 
titles  are  looked  upon  as  more  valid,  and  not  so  subject 
to  dispute.  This  reason,  the  extraordinary  fertility  of 
the  soil,  and  a  more  healthy  climate,  are  such  great  in- 
ducements to  the  emigrants  of  the  Atlantic  states,  that 
most  of  them  prefer  settling  in  West  Tennessea  than  in 
Kentucky.  They  reckon  there,  at  present,  thirty  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  and  five  or  six  thousand  negro  slaves. 

With  a  few  exceptions  the  various  species  of  trees  and 
shrubs  that  form  the  mass  of  the  forests  are  the  same  as 
those  that  I  observed  in  the  most  fertile  parts  of  Ken- 
tucky. The  gleditsia  triacanthos  is  still  more  common 
there.57  Of  this  wood  the  Indians  made  their  bows, 
before  they  adopted  the  use  of  fire-arms. 

67  The  gleditsia  triacanthus,  or  honey  locust,  is  common  to  a  large  part  of 
the  United  States.—  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  275 

We  found  particularly,  in  these  forests,  a  tree  which, 
by  the  shape  of  its  fruit  and  the  disposition  of  its  leaves, 
appears  to  have  great  affinity  with  the  [236]  sophora 
japonica,  the  wood  of  which  is  used  by  the  Chinese  for 
dyeing  yellow.  My  father,  who  discovered  this  tree  in 
1796,  thought  that  it  might  be  employed  for  the  same 
use,  and  become  an  important  object  of  traffic  for  the 
country.  He  imparted  his  conjectures  to  Mr.  Blount, 
then  governor  of  this  state,  and  his  letter  was  inserted 
in  the  Gazette  at  Knoxville  on  the  15th  of  March  1796. 
Several  persons  in  the  country  having  a  great  desire  to 
know  whether  it  were  possible  to  fix  the  beautiful  yellow 
which  the  wood  of  this  tree  communicated  to  the  water 
by  the  simple  infusion,  cold,  I  profited  by  my  stay  at 
Nasheville  to  send  twenty  pounds  of  it  to  New  York,  the 
half  of  which  was  remitted  to  Dr.  Mitchell,  professor  of 
chemistry,  and  the  other  addressed  to  Paris,  to  the  Board 
of  Agriculture,  attached  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
in  order  to  verify  the  degree  of  utility  that  might  be  de- 
rived from  it.  This  tree  very  seldom  rises  above  forty 
feet,  and  grows,  in  preference,  on  the  knobs,  species  of 
little  hills,  where  the  soil  is  very  rich.  Several  of  the  in- 
habitants have  [237]  remarked  that  there  is  not  in  the 
country  a  single  species  of  tree  that  produces  so  great  an 
abundance  of  sap.  The  quantity  that  it  supplies  exceeds 
even  that  of  the  sugar  maple,  although  the  latter  is  twice 
its  bulk.  The  epoch  of  my  stay  at  Nasheville  being  that 
when  the  seeds  of  this  tree  were  ripe,  I  gathered  a  small 
quantity  of  them,  which  I  brought  over  with  me,  and 
which  have  all  come  up.  Several  of  the  plants  are  at  the 
present  moment  ten  or  fifteen  inches  high.  It  is  very 
probable  that  this  tree  may  be  reared  in  France,  and  that 
it  will  endure  the  cold  of  our  winters,  and  more  so,  as, 


276  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

according  to  what  I  have  been  told,  the  winters  are  as 
severe  in  Tennessea  as  in  any  parts  of  France. 

West  Tennessea  is  not  so  salubrious  as  Holston  and 
Kentucky.  A  warmer  and  damper  climate  is  the  cause 
of  intermittent  fevers  being  more  common  there.  Emi- 
grants, for  the  first  year  of  their  settling  there,  and  even 
travellers,  are,  during  that  season,  subject  to  an  exanthe- 
metic  affection  similar  to  the  itch.  This  malady,  with 
which  I  began  to  be  attacked  [238]  before  I  reached  Fort 
Blount,  yielded  to  a  cooling  regimen,  and  repeated  bath- 
ings in  the  rivers  Cumberland  and  Roaring.  This  dis- 
order is  very  appropriately  called  in  the  country  the 
Tennessean  itch. 

[239]  CHAP.  XXVI 

Different  kinds  of  produce  of  West  Tennessea. — Domestic 
manufactories  for  cottons  encouraged  by  the  legislature 
of  this  state. — Mode  of  letting  out  estates  by  some  of  the 
emigrants. 

West  Tennessea,  or  Cumberland,  being  situated  under 
a  more  southerly  latitude  than  Kentucky,  is  particularly 
favourable  to  the  growth  of  cotton;  in  consequence  of 
which  the  inhabitants  give  themselves  up  almost  en- 
tirely to  it,  and  cultivate  but  little  more  corn,  hemp,  and 
tobacco  than  what  is  necessary  for  their  own  consump- 
tion. 

The  soil,  which  is  fat  and  clayey,  appears  to  be  a  recent 
dissolving  of  vegetable  substances,  and  seems,  [240]  till 
now,  less  adapted  for  the  culture  of  corn  than  that  of 
Indian  wheat.  The  harvests  of  this  grain  are  as  plentiful 
as  in  Kentucky;  the  blades  run  up  ten  or  twelve  feet  high; 
and  the  ears,  which  grow  six  or  seven  feet  from  the  earth, 
are  from  nine  to  ten  inches  in  length,  and  proportionate 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  277 

in  size.  It  is  cultivated  in  the  same  manner  as  in  other 
parts  of  the  western  country. 

The  crows,  which  are  a  true  plague  in  the  Atlantic 
states,  where  they  ravage,  at  three  different  periods,  the 
fields  of  Indian  wheat,  which  are  obliged  to  be  sown 
again  as  many  times,  have  not  yet  made  their  appearance 
in  Tennessea ;  but  it  is  very  probable  that  this  visit  is  only 
deferred,  as  they  do,  annually,  great  damage  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

I  must  also  observe  here  that  the  grey  European  rats 
have  not  yet  penetrated  into  Cumberland,  though  they 
are  very  numerous  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  particu- 
larly in  those  settlements  belonging  to  the  whites. 

The  culture  of  cotton,  infinitely  more  lucrative  [241] 
than  that  of  corn  and  tobacco,  is,  as  before  observed,  the 
most  adhered  to  in  West  Tennessea.  There  is  scarcely 
a  single  emigrant  but  what  begins  to  plant  his  estate  with 
it  the  third  year  after  his  settling  in  the  country.  Those 
who  have  no  negroes  cultivate  it  with  the  plough,  nearly 
in  the  same  manner  as  Indian  wheat,  taking  particular 
care  to  weed  and  throw  new  earth  upon  it  several  times 
in  the  course  of  the  season.  Others  lay  out  their  fields 
in  parallel  furrows,  made  with  the  hoe,  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches  high.  It  is  computed  that  one  man,  who 
employs  himself  with  this  alone,  is  sufficient  to  cultivate 
eight  or  nine  acres,  but  not  to  gather  in  the  harvest. 
A  man  and  a  woman,  with  two  or  three  children,  may, 
notwithstanding,  cultivate  four  acres  with  the  greatest 
ease,  independent  of  the  Indian  wheat  necessary  for 
their  subsistence;  and  calculating  upon  a  harvest  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  weight  per  acre,  which  is  very 
moderate  according  to  the  extreme  fertility  of  the  soil, 
they  will  have,  in  four  acres,  a  produce  of  fourteen  hun- 


278  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

dred  pounds  of  [242]  cotton.  Valuing  it  at  the  rate  of 
eighteen  dollars  per  hundred  weight,  the  lowest  price  to 
which  it  had  fallen  at  the  epoch  of  the  last  peace,  when  I 
was  in  the  country,  gives  two  hundred  and  fifty-two  dol- 
lars; from  which  deducting  forty  dollars  for  the  expenses 
of  culture,  they  will  have  a  net  produce  of  two  hundred 
and  twelve  dollars;  while  the  same  number  of  acres, 
planted  with  Indian  wheat,  or  sown  with  corn,  would 
only  yield  at  the  rate  of  fifty  bushels  per  acre ;  and  twenty- 
five  bushels  of  corn,  about  fifty  dollars,  reckoning  the 
Indian  wheat  at  thirteen  pence,  and  the  corn  at  two  shil- 
lings and  two  pence  per  bushel;  under  the  supposition 
that  they  can  sell  it  at  that  price,  which  is  not  always  the 
case.  This  light  sketch  demonstrates  with  what  facility  a 
poor  family  may  acquire  speedily,  in  West  Tennessea,  a 
certain  degree  of  independence,  particularly  after  having 
been  settled  five  or  six  years,  as  they  procure  the  means  of 
purchasing  one  or  two  negroes,  and  of  annually  increasing 
their  number. 

The  species  of  cotton  which  they  cultivate  here  is  [243] 
somewhat  more  esteemed  than  that  described  by  the 
name  of  green-seed  cotton,  in  which  there  is  a  trifling 
distinction  in  point  of  colour. 

The  cottons  that  are  manufactured  in  West  Tennessea 
are  exceedingly  fine,  and  superior  in  quality  to  those  I 
saw  in  the  course  of  my  travels.  The  legislature  of  this 
state,  appreciating  the  advantage  of  encouraging  this  kind 
of  industry,  and  of  diminishing,  by  that  means,  the  im- 
portation of  English  goods  of  the  same  nature,  has  given, 
for  these  two  years  past,  a  premium  of  ten  dollars  to  the 
female  inhabitant  who,  in  every  county,  presents  the  best 
manufactured  piece;  for  in  this  part,  as  well  as  in  Ken- 
tucky, the  higher  circles  wear,  in  summer  time,  as  much 


1802]  F.  A.  Micfiaux's  Travels  279 

from  patriotism  as  from  economy,  dresses  made  of  the 
cottons  manufactured  in  the  country.  At  the  same  time 
they  are  convinced  that  it  is  the  only  means  of  preserving 
the  little  specie  that  is  in  the  country,  and  of  preventing 
its  going  to  England. 

The  price  of  the  best  land  does  not  yet  exceed  five  dol- 
lars per  acre  in  the  environs  of  Nasheville,  and  [244] 
thirty  or  forty  miles  from  the  town  they  are  not  even  worth 
three  dollars.  They  can  at  that  price  purchase  a  planta- 
tion completely  formed,  composed  of  two  to  three  hundred 
acres,  of  which  fifteen  to  twenty  are  cleared,  and  a  log- 
house.  The  taxes  in  this  state  are  also  not  so  high  as  in 
Kentucky. 

Among  the  emigrants  that  arrive  annually  from  the 
eastern  country  at  Tennessea  there  are  always  some  who 
have  not  the  means  of  purchasing  estates;  still  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  procuring  them  at  a  certain  rent;  for  the 
speculators  who  possess  many  thousand  acres  are  very 
happy  to  get  tenants  for  their  land,  as  it  induces  others 
to  come  and  settle  in  the  environs ;  since  the  speculation  of 
estates  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessea  is  so  profitable  to  the 
owners,  who  reside  upon  the  spot,  and  who,  on  the  arrival 
of  the  emigrants,  know  how  to  give  directions  in  cultiva- 
tion, which  speedily  enhances  the  value  of  their  posses- 
sions. 

The  conditions  imposed  upon  the  renter  are  to  clear 
and  inclose  eight  or  nine  acres,  to  build  a  log-house,  and 
to  pay  to  the  owner  eight  or  ten  bushels  [245]  of  Indian 
wheat  for  every  acre  cleared.  These  contracts  are  kept 
up  for  seven  or  eight  years.  The  second  year  after  the 
price  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land  belonging  to  a  new 
settlement  of  this  kind  increases  nearly  thirty  per  cent.; 
and  this  estate  is  purchased  in  preference  by  a  new  emi- 


280  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

grant,  who  is  sure  of  gathering  corn  enough  for  the  sup- 
plies of  his  family  and  cattle. 

In  this  state  they  are  not  so  famed  for  rearing  horses 
as  in  Kentucky;  yet  the  greatest  care  is  taken  to  improve 
their  breed,  by  rearing  them  with  those  of  the  latter  state, 
whence  they  send  for  the  finest  mare  foals  that  can  be 
procured. 

Although  this  country  abounds  with  saline  springs, 
none  are  yet  worked,  as  the  scarcity  of  hands  would  ren- 
der the  salt  dearer  than  what  is  imported  from  the  salt- 
pits  of  St.  Genevieve,  which  supply  all  Cumberland.  It 
is  sold  at  two  dollars  per  bushel,  about  sixty  pounds 
weight. 

[246]  CHAP.  XXVII 
East  Tennessea,  or  Holston. — Agriculture. — Population. — 

Commerce 

East  Tennessea,  or  Holston,  is  situated  between  the 
loftiest  of  the  Alleghany  and  Cumberland  Mountains.  It 
comprises,  in  length,  an  extent  of  nearly  a  hundred  and 
forty  miles,  and  differs  chiefly  from  West  Tennessea  in 
point  of  the  earth's  being  not  so  chalky,  and  better  wa- 
tered by  the  small  rivers  issuing  from  the  adjacent  moun- 
tains, which  cross  it  in  every  part.  The  best  land  is  upon 
their  borders.  The  remainder  of  the  territory,  almost 
everywhere  interspersed  with  hills,  is  of  a  middling 
quality,  and  produces  nothing  but  white,  red,  black, 
chincapin,  [247]  and  mountain  oaks,  &c.  intermixed 
with  pines;  and,  as  we  have  before  observed,  except  the 
quercus  macrocarpa,  the  rest  never  grow,  even  in  the  most 
fertile  places. 

Indian  wheat  forms  here  also  one  of  the  principal 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  281 

branches  of  agriculture;  but  it  very  seldom  comes  up 
above  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  and  a  produce  of  thirty 
bushels  per  acre  passes  for  an  extraordinary  harvest. 
The  nature  of  the  soil,  somewhat  gravelly,  appears  more 
adapted  for  the  culture  of  wheat,  rye,  and  oats;  in  con- 
sequence of  which  it  is  more  adhered  to  than  in  Cumber- 
land. That  of  cotton  is  little  noticed,  on  account  of  the 
cold  weather,  which  sets  in  very  early.  One  may  judge, 
according  to  this,  that  Holston  is  in  every  point  inferior 
in  fertility  to  Cumberland  and  Kentucky. 

To  consume  the  superfluity  of  their  corn  the  inhabi- 
tants rear  a  great  number  of  cattle,  which  they  take 
four  or  five  hundred  miles  to  the  seaports  belonging  to 
the  southern  states.  They  lose  very  few  of  these  animals 
by  the  way,  although  they  have  to  [248]  cross  several 
rivers,  and  travel  through  an  uninterrupted  forest,  with 
this  disadvantage,  of  the  cattle  being  extremely  wild. 

This  part  of  Tennessea  began  to  be  inhabited  in  1775, 
and  the  population  is  -so  much  increased,  that  there  is 
now  computed  to  be  about  seventy  thousand  inhabitants, 
including  three  or  four  thousand  negro  slaves.  In  1787 
they  attempted  to  form  themselves  into  an  independent 
state,  under  the  name  of  the  Franklin  State;  but  this 
project  was  abandoned.58  It  is  still  very  probable,  and 
has  already  been  in  question,  that  East  and  West  Ten- 
nessea will  ultimately  form  two  distinct  states,  which  will 
each  enlarge  itself  by  a  new  addition  of  part  of  the  terri- 
tory belonging  to  the  Cherokee  Indians.  The  natives,  it  is 
true,  will  not  hear  the  least  mention  of  a  cession  being 
made,   objecting  that   their  tract  of  country   is   barely 

58  For  an  account  of  the  movement  for  the  State  of  Franklin,  see  Turner, 
"Western  State  Making,"  American  Historical  Review,  i,  pp.  256-261. —  Ed. 


282  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

sufficient  to  furnish,  by  hunting,  a  subsistence  for  their 
families.  However,  sooner  or  later  they  will  be  obliged 
to  yield.  The  division  of  Tennessea  cannot  be  long  before 
it  takes  place,  whether  under  [249]  the  consideration  of 
convenience,  or  the  enterprising  disposition  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. It  is  commanded,  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  bounda- 
ries that  Nature  herself  has  prescribed  between  the  two 
countries,  in  separating  them  by  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains; and  on  the  other,  by  their  commerce,  which  is 
wholly  different,  since  Cumberland  carries  on  its  trade  by 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  while  Holston  does  most  by 
land  with  the  seaports  belonging  to  the  Atlantic  states, 
and  has  very  little  to  do  with  New  Orleans  by  the  river 
Tennessea,  and  scarcely  any  with  Cumberland  and  Ken- 
tucky. Under  this  consideration,  Holston  is,  of  all  parts 
in  the  United  States  that  are  now  inhabited,  the  most 
unfavourably  situated,  being  on  every  side  circumscribed 
by  considerable  tracts  of  country  that  produce  the  same 
provisions,  and  which  are  either  more  fertile  or  nearer  to 
the  borders  of  the  sea. 

What  has  been  said  relative  to  the  manners  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Kentucky  will  apply,  in  a  great  measure  to 
Tennessea,  since  they  come,  as  the  former  [250]  do, 
from  North  Carolina  and  Virginia:  still  the  inhabitants 
of  Tennessea  do  not  yet  enjoy  that  degree  of  indepen- 
dence which  is  remarked  among  those  of  Kentucky. 
They  appear  also  not  so  religious,  although,  in  the  mean 
time,  they  are  very  strict  observers  of  Sundays.  We 
found  but  very  few  churches  in  Tennessea.  Itinerant 
preachers  wander,  in  summer,  through  the  different 
countries,  and  preach  in  the  woods,  where  the  people  col- 
lect together. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  283 

[251]  CHAP.  XXVIII 

Departure  from  Jonesborough  for  Morganton  in  North 
Carolina. — Journey  over  Iron  Mountains. — Sojourn  on 
the  mountains. — Journey  over  the  Blue  Ridges  and 
Linneville  Mountains. — Arrival  at  Morganton. 

On  the  21st  of  September  1802  I  set  out  from  Jones- 
borough  to  cross  the  Alleghanies  for  North  Carolina. 
About  nine  miles  from  Jonesborough  the  road  divides 
into  two  branches,  which  unite  again  fifty-six  miles 
beyond  the  mountains.  The  left,  which  is  principally 
for  carriages,  cuts  through  Yellow  Mountain,  and  the 
other  through  Iron  [252]  Mountain.  I  took  the  latter, 
as  I  had  been  informed  it  was  much  the  shortest.  I  only 
made  nineteen  miles  that  day,  and  put  up  at  one  Cayerd's 
at  the  Limestone  Cove,  where  I  arrived  benumbed  with 
cold  by  the  thick  fog  that  reigns  almost  habitually  in  the 
vallies  of  these  enormous  mountains. 

Seven  miles  on  this  side  Cayerd's  plantation,  the  road, 
or  rather  the  path,  begins  to  be  so  little  cut  that  one  can 
scarce  discern  the  track  for  plants  of  all  kinds  that  cover 
the  superficies  of  it;  it  is  also  encumbered  by  forests  of 
rhododendrum,  shrubs  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in 
height,  the  branches  of  which,  twisting  and  interwoven 
with  each  other,  impede  the  traveller  every  moment, 
insomuch  that  he  is  obliged  to  use  an  axe  to  clear  his 
way.  The  torrents  that  we  had  continually  to  cross 
added  to  the  difficulty  and  danger  of  the  journey,  the 
horses  being  exposed  to  fall  on  account  of  the  loose 
round  flints,  concealed  by  the  ebullition  of  the  waters  with 
which  the  bottom  of  these  torrents  are  filled. 

I  had  the  day  following  twenty-three  miles  to  [253] 
make  without  meeting  with  the  least  kind  of  a  plantation. 


284  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

After  having  made  the  most  minute  inquiry  with  regard 
to  the  path  I  had  to  take,  I  set  out  about  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning  from  the  Limestone  Cove,  and  after  a  jour- 
ney of  three  hours  I  reached  the  summit  of  the  mountain, 
which  I  recognized  by  several  trees  with  "the  road" 
marked  on  each,  and  in  the  same  direction  to  indicate 
the  line  of  demarcation  that  separates  the  state  of  Ten- 
nessea  from  that  of  North  Carolina.  The  distance  from 
the  Limestone  Cove  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain  is 
computed  to  be  about  two  miles  and  a  half,  and  three 
miles  thgnce  to  the  other  side.  The  declivity  of  the  two 
sides  is  very  steep,  insomuch  that  it  is  with  great  difficulty 
a  person  can  sit  upon  his  horse,  and  that  half  the  time 
he  is  obliged  to  go  on  foot.  Arrived  at  the  bottom 
of  the  mountain,  I  had  again,  as  the  evening  before,  to 
cross  through  forests  of  rhododendrum,  and  a  large  torrent 
called  Rocky  Creek,  the  winding  course  of  which  cut 
the  path  in  twelve  or  fifteen  directions;  every  time  I  was 
obliged  to  alight,  or  go  [254]  up  the  torrent  by  walking 
into  the  middle  for  the  space  of  ten  or  fifteen  fathoms,  in 
order  to  regain  on  the  other  bank  the  continuation  of  the 
path,  which  is  very  rarely  opposite,  and  of  which  the  en- 
trance was  frequently  concealed  by  tufts  of  grass  or 
branches  of  trees,  which  have  time  to  grow  and  extend 
their  foliage,  since  whole  months  elapse  without  its  being 
passed  by  travellers.  At  length  I  happily  arrived  at  the 
end  of  my  journey.  I  then  perceived  the  imprudence  I 
had  committed  in  having  exposed  myself  without  a  guide 
in  a  road  so  little  frequented,  and  where  a  person  every 
moment  runs  the  risk  of  losing  himself  on  account  of  the 
sub-divisions  of  the  road,  that  ultimately  disappear,  and 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  again,  unless  by 
being  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  localities  and  dispo- 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  285 

sition  of  the  country,  where  obstacle  upon  obstacle  oppose 
the  journey  of  the  traveller,  and  whose  situation  would  in 
a  short  time  become  very  critical  from  the  want  of  pro- 
visions. 

On  the  23d  I  made  twenty-two  miles  through  a  [255] 
country  bestrewed  with  mountains,  but  not  so  lofty  as 
that  which  I  had  just  passed  over,  and  arrived  at  the 
house  of  one  Davenport,  the  owner  of  a  charming  planta- 
tion upon  Doe  river,  a  torrent  about  forty  feet  in  breadth, 
and  which  empties  itself  into  the  Nolachuky.  I  had 
learnt  the  evening  before,  of  the  person  with  whom  I  had 
lodged,  that  it  was  at  Davenport's  my  father  had  resided, 
and  that  it  was  this  man  who  served  him  as  a  guide  across 
the  mountains  when  on  his  travels  to  discover  their  pro- 
ductions. I  was  at  that  time  very  far  from  thinking  that 
at  the  same  time  when  this  worthy  man  was  entertaining 
me  about  his  old  travelling  companion,  I  lost  a  beloved 
father,  who  died  a  victim  of  his  zeal  for  the  progress  of  nat- 
ural history  upon  the  coast  of  the  island  of  Madagascar ! 

I  staid  a  week  at  Davenport's,  in  order  to  rest  myself 
after  a  journey  of  six  hundred  miles  that  I  had  just  made, 
and  during  this  interval  I  travelled  over  the  Blue  Ridges 
that  encompass  his  plantation.  On  the  2d  of  October 
1802  I  set  out  on  my  journey  [256]  again,  and  proceeded 
towards  Morganton,  a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles. 
About  four  miles  from  Doe  river  I  re-passed  the  chain  of 
the  Blue  Ridges.  Its  summit  is  obtained  by  a  gentle 
declivity,  which  is  much  longer  and  more  rapid  on  the 
eastern  side,  without  being  impracticable  for  carriages. 
The  journey  over  this  mountain  is  computed  to  be  about 
four  miles  and  a  half. 

About  five  miles  from  the  Blue  Ridges  are  the  Linne- 
ville  Mountains,  not  quite  so  lofty  as  the  latter,  but  steeper, 


286  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

and  more  difficult  to  ascend.  The  road  that  cuts  through 
them  is  encumbered  westward  with  large,  flat  stones, 
which  impede  the  traveller  on  his  route.  From  the  sum- 
mit of  these  mountains,  which  is  not  overstocked  with 
trees,  we  discovered  an  immense  extent  of  mountainous 
country  covered  with  forests,  and  at  their  base  only  three 
small  places  cleared,  which  form  as  many  plantations, 
three  or  four  miles  distant  from  each  other. 

From  the  Linneville  Mountains  to  Morganton  it  is 
computed  to  be  twenty-five  miles,  where  I  arrived  [257] 
on  the  5th  of  October.  In  this  interval  the  country  is 
slightly  mountainous,  and  the  soil  extremely  bad;  at  the 
same  time  we  did  not  find  more  than  four  or  five  planta- 
tions on  the  road.  About  a  mile  on  this  side  the  town  we 
crossed  the  northern  arm  of  the  river  Catabaw,  in  this  part 
nearly  fifty  fathoms  broad,  although  the  source  of  this  river 
is  only  fifty  miles.  The  rains  that  had  fallen  in  the  moun- 
tains had  produced  a  sudden  increase  of  water,  and  the 
master  of  the  ferry-boat  conceiving  it  would  not  last  long, 
had  not  thought  proper  to  re-establish  his  boat,  so  that 
I  was  obliged  to  ford.  One  of  his  children  pointed  out 
to  me  the  different  directions  that  I  had  to  take  in  order 
to  avoid  the  immense  cavities  under  water. 

[258]  CHAP.  XXIX 

General  observations  upon  this  part  0}  the  Chain  of  the 
Alleghanies. — Salamander  which  is  found  in  the  tor- 
rents.— Bear  hunting. 

In  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  the  Alleghanies  present 
themselves  under  the  form  of  parallel  furrows,  but  vary- 
ing in  their  length.  They  are  mostly  near  together,  and 
form  narrow  vallies;  but  sometimes  the  interval  that 
separates  them  is  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles  in  length; 


1802]  F.  A.  Mic/iaux's  Travels  287 

again  these  spaces  are  filled  with  a  multitude  of  hills  of  a 
lesser  elevation,  confusedly  scattered,  and  in  no  wise 
affecting  the  direction  of  the  principal  chains.  On  the 
confines  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessea  the  Alle- 
ghanies  are,  [259]  on  the  contrary,  isolated  mountains, 
and  only  contiguous  by  their  base;  they  embrace  also  in 
diameter  an  extemTof  country  less  considerable,  and  which 
is  not  computed  to  be  more  than  seventy  miles.  The 
furrow  that  bears  more  particularly  the  name  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Ridge  in  Pennsylvania,  and  that  of  Blue  Ridge  in 
North  Carolina,  is  the  only  one  that,  continuing  uninter- 
ruptedly, divides  the  rivers  that  run  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  from  those  that  swell  the  current  of  the  Ohio. 
The  height  of  this  chain  is  still  infinitely  less  than  that 
of  the  neighbouring  mountains.  It  is  here  that  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  which  cross  the  United  States  for  the  space  of 
nine  hundred  miles,  have  the  highest  elevation.  This 
is  the  opinion  of  most  of  the  inhabitants,  who,  from  the 
mountainous  part  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  have 
emigrated  on  the  confines  of  North  Carolina,  and  who 
know  the  respective  heights  of  all  these  mountains. 
That  of  the  first  rank  is  called  Grandfather  Mountain, 
the  next  Iron  Mountain,  and  thus  in  succession  Yellow 
Mountain,  Black  Mountain,  and  Table  [260]  Mountain, 
which  are  all  situate  upon  the  western  rivers.  On  the 
top  of  Yellow  Mountain,  the  only  one  that  is  not  stocked 
with  trees,  all  the  abovementioned  may  be  seen. 

We  may  again  remark,  in  support  of  the  preceding 
observation,  that  from  the  10th  to  the  20th  of  September 
the  cold  is  so  keenly  felt  upon  the  mountains  that  the 
inhabitants  are  obliged  to  make  a  fire,  which  is  not  the 
case  upon  any  of  those  in  Virginia,  although  they  are 
situated  more  northerly  by  several  degrees :  and  besides  I 


288  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

have  since  seen  in  my  father's  notes  that  he  had  observed 
trees  and  shrubs  upon  the  Yellow  and  Grandfather 
Mountains  that  he  did  not  meet  with  again  till  he  reached 
Low  Canada. 

As  the  only  ideas  given  concerning  the  height  of  the 
Alleghanies  are  the  result  of  observations  taken  in  Vir- 
ginia, we  see,  according  to  that  short  exposition,  that  we 
have  but  an  inaccurate  account;  this  induced  me  to  point 
out  the  highest  mountains  where  their  true  elevation  might 
be  ascertained.  They  are  about  three  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  from  Charleston,  in  [261]  South  Carolina,  and  five 
hundred  and  fifty  from  Philadelphia. 

The  mineral  kingdom  is  very  little  diversified  in  these 
mountains.  The  mines  which  have  hitherto  been  found 
are  chiefly  those  of  iron.  They  are  worked  with  success, 
and  the  iron  which  they  derive  from  it  is  of  an  excellent 
quality. 

In  the  mountainous  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Vir- 
ginia the  land,  frequently  dry  and  flinty,  is  of  an  indiffer- 
ent nature.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  the  soil  far  from  being 
flinty,  is  perpetually  moist,  and  very  fertile.  We  may 
judge  of  it  by  the  vegetable  strength  of  the  trees,  among 
which  -we  observed  the  red  and  black  oak,  the  sugar- 
maple,  the  ash,  the  yellow-blossomed  chesnut,  or  the 
magnolia  acuminata  and  auriculata,  and  the  common 
chesnut,  which  grows  to  a  prodigious  height.  The  side 
of  these  mountains  that  looks  north  is  sometimes  covered 
exclusively  with  the  kalmia  latijolia,  or  calico-tree,  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high.  They  frequently  occupy 
spaces  of  from  two  to  three  hundred  acres,  [262]  which 
at  a  distance  affords  the  aspect  of  a  charming  meadow. 
It  is  well  known  that  this  shrub  excels  every  other  in  point 
of  blossom. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  289 

In  the  great  woods  the  superficies  of  the  soil  is  covered 
with  a  species  of  wild  peas,  that  rises  about  three  feet  from 
the  earth,  and  serves  as  excellent  fodder  for  the  cattle. 
They  prefer  this  pasturage  to  any  other,  and  whenever 
they  are  driven  from  it  they  pine  away,  or  make  their 
escape  to  get  to  it  again. 

These  mountains  begin  to  be  populated  rapidly.  The 
salubrity  of  the  air,  the  excellence  of  the  water,  and  more 
especially  the  pasturage  of  these  wild  peas  for  the  cattle, 
are  so  many  causes  that  induce  new  inhabitants  to  settle 
there. 

Estates  of  the  first  class  are  sold  at  the  rate  of  two 
dollars,  and  the  taxes  are  not  more  than  a  half-penny 
per  acre.  Indian  corn,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  peach 
trees,  are  the  sole  objects  of  culture. 

In  the  torrents  we  found  a  species  of  salamander,  called 
by  the  inhabitants  the  mountain  alligator;  [263]  many  of 
which  are  upwards  of  two  feet  in  length.59  It  was  in  Doe 
river  that  my  father  caught  the  one  which  is  described  in 
The  New  Dictionary  of  Natural  History,  published  by 
Deterville. 

The  inhabitants  of  these  mountains  are  famed  for 
being  excellent  hunters.  Towards  the  middle  of  autumn 
most  of  them  go  in  pursuit  of  bears,  of  which  they  sell  the 
skins,  and  the  flesh,  which  is  very  good,  serves  them  in  a 
great  measure  for  food  during  that  season.  They  prefer 
it  to  all  other  kinds  of  meat,  and  look  upon  it  as  the  only 
thing  they  can  eat  without  being  indisposed  by  it.  They 
make  also  of  their  hind  legs  the  most  delicious  hams.  In 
autumn  and  winter  the  bears  grow  excessively  fat;  some 
of  them  weigh  upward  of  four  hundred  weight.     Their 

69  The  protonopsis  horrida,  or  a  similar  variety  limited  to  the  Alleghanies  — 
protonopsis  jusca.     The  former  is  generally  called  the  ' '  hellbender.' ' —  Ed. 


290  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

grease  is  consumed  in  the  country  instead  of  oil.  They 
hunt  them  with  great  dogs,  which,  without  going  near 
them,  bark,  teaze,  and  oblige  them  to  climb  up  a  tree, 
when  the  hunter  kills  them  with  a  carabine.  A  beautiful 
skin  sells  for  a  dollar  and  a  half  or  two  dollars.  The 
black  bear  of  North  [264]  America  lives  chiefly  on  roots, 
acorns  and  chesnuts.  In  order  to  procure  a  greater 
quantity  of  them,  he  gets  up  into  the  trees,  and  as  his 
weight  does  not  permit  him  to  climb  to  any  height,  he 
breaks  off  the  branch  where  he  has  observed  the  most 
fruit  by  hugging  it  with  one  of  his  fore  paws.  I  have  seen 
branches  of  such  a  diameter  that  these  animals  must  be 
endowed  with  an  uncommon  strength  to  have  been  able 
to  break  them  by  setting  about  it  in  this  manner.  In  the 
summer,  when  they  are  most  exposed  to  want  victuals, 
they  fall  upon  pigs,  and  sometimes  even  upon  men. 

[265]  CHAP.  XXX 

Morganton. —  Departure  jor  Charleston. —  Lincolnton. — 
Chester. —  Winesborough. —  Columbia. — Aspect  of  the 
Country  on  the  Road. — Agriculture,  &c.  &°c. 

Morganton,  the  principal  town  of  the  county  of  Burke, 
contains  about  fifty  houses  built  of  wood,  and  almost 
all  inhabited  by  tradesmen.  One  warehouse  only,  sup- 
ported by  a  commercial  house  at  Charleston,  is  estab- 
lished in  this  little  town,  where  the  inhabitants,  for 
twenty  miles  round,  come  and  purchase  mercery  and 
jewellery  goods  from  England,  or  give  in  exchange  a  part 
of  their  produce,  which  consists  chiefly  of  dried  hams, 
butter,  tallow,  [266]  bear  and  stag  skins,  and  ginseng, 
which  they  bring  from  the  mountains. 

From  Morganton  to  Charleston  it  is  computed  to  be 
two  hundred  and  eighty-five  miles.    There  are  several 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  291 

roads  to  it,  which  do  not  vary  in  point  of  distance  above 
twenty  miles.  Travellers  take  that  where  they  think  of 
finding  the  best  houses  for  accommodation:  I  took  the 
one  that  leads  through  Lincolnton,  Chester,  and  Colum- 
bia. The  distance  from  Morganton  to  Lincolnton  is 
forty-five  miles.  For  the  whole  of  this  space  the  soil  is 
extremely  bad,  and  the  plantations,  straggling  five  or  six 
miles  from  each  other,  have  but  a  middling  appearance. 
The  woods  are  in  a  great  measure  composed  of  different 
kinds  of  oaks,  and  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  covered 
with  grass,  intermixed  with  plants. 

Lincolnton,  the  principal  town  of  the  county  of  Lin- 
coln, is  formed  by  the  junction  of  forty  houses,  surrounded 
by  the  woods  like  all  the  small  towns  of  the  interior. 
Two  or  three  large  shops,  that  do  the  same  kind  of  busi- 
ness as  that  at  Morganton,  are  established  [267]  there. 
The  tradesmen  who  keep  them  send  the  produce  of  their 
country  to  Charleston,  but  they  find  it  sometimes  answer 
their  purpose  better  to  stock  themselves  with  goods  from 
Philadelphia,  although  farther  by  six  hundred  miles. 
Some  expedite  them  by  sea  to  Carolina,  whence  they  go 
by  land  to  Lincolnton.  The  freight,  a  little  higher  from 
England  to  Charleston,  and  the  enormous  advance  which 
the  merchants  lay  on  their  goods,  appear  the  only  motives 
that  make  them  give  the  preference  to  those  of  Philadel- 
phia. 

At  Lincolnton  they  print  a  newspaper  in  folio,  that 
comes  out  twice  a  week.  The  price  of  subscription  is 
two  dollars  per  year;  but  the  printer,  who  is  his  own  edi- 
tor, takes,  by  way  of  payment,  for  the  ease  of  his  country 
subscribers,  flour,  rye,  wax,  &c.  at  the  market  price. 
The  advertisements  inserted  for  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country  are  generally  the  surest  profit  to  the  printers. 


292  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  foreign  news  is  extracted  from  the  papers  that  are 
published  at  the  sea  ports.  The  federal  government,  of 
which  the  constant  aim  is  [268]  to  propagate  among  the 
people  instruction,  the  knowledge  of  the  laws,  grants  the 
editors  of  periodical  papers,  throughout  the  whole  extent 
of  the  United  States,  the  right  to  receive,  free  of  postage, 
the  newspapers  that  they  wish  to  exchange  among  them- 
selves, or  those  which  are  addressed  to  them. 

The  county  of  Lincoln  is  populated,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, by  Germans  from  Pennsylvania.  Their  plantations 
are  kept  in  the  greatest  order,  and  their  lands  well  culti- 
vated. Almost  all  have  negro  slaves,  and  there  reigns 
much  more  independance  among  them  than  in  the  fami- 
lies of  English  origin.  One  may  form  a  correct  idea  of 
the  industry  of  some  of  them  by  the  appearance  of  the 
plantation  where  I  stopped,  situated  upon  a  branch  of 
the  Catabaw  River.  In  eight  hundred  acres,  of  which 
it  is  composed,  a  hundred  and  fifty  are  cultivated  in 
cotton,  Indian  corn,  wheat,  and  oats,  and  dunged  an- 
nually, which  is  a  great  degree  of  perfection  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  the  agriculture  of  this  part  of  the  country. 
Independant  of  this,  he  has  built  in  his  yard  several  [269] 
machines,  that  the  same  current  of  water  puts  in  motion ; 
they  consist  of  a  corn  mill,  a  saw  mill,  another  to  separate 
the  cotton  seeds,  a  tan-house,  a  tan-mill,  a  distillery  to 
make  peach  brandy,  and  a  small  forge,  where  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  country  go  to  have  their  horses  shod.  Seven 
or  eight  negro  slaves  are  employed  in  the  different  de- 
partments, some  of  which  are  only  occupied  at  certain 
periods  of  the  year.  Their  wives  are  employed  under 
the  direction  of  the  mistress  in  manufacturing  cotton  and 
linen  for  the  use  of  the  family. 

The  whole  of  my  landlord's  taxes,  assessed  upon  his 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  293 

landed  property,  and  these  different  kinds  of  industry, 
did  not  amount  annually  to  more  than  seven  dollars; 
whilst  under  the  presidency  of  J.  Adams  they  had  in- 
creased to  fifty;  at  the  same  time  his  memory  is  not  held 
in  great  veneration  in  Upper  Carolina  and  the  Western 
States,  where  the  political  opinion  is  strongly  pronounced 
in  the  sense  of  opposition,  and  where  nobody  durst  confess 
himself  publicly  attached  to  the  federal  party. 

[270]  In  all  the  towns  that  I  travelled  through  every 
tanner  has  his  tan  mill,  which  does  not  cost  him  above  ten 
dollars  to  erect.  The  bark  is  put  into  a  wooden  arch, 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  in  diameter,  the  edges  of  which 
are  about  fifteen  inches  high,  and  it  is  crushed  under  the 
weight  of  a  wheel,  about  one  foot  thick,  which  is  turned 
by  a  horse,  and  fixed  similar  to  a  cyder-press.  For  this 
purpose  they  generally  make  use  of  an  old  mill-stone,  or 
a  wooden  wheel,  formed  by  several  pieces  joined  together, 
and  furnished  in  its  circumference  with  three  rows  of 
teeth,  also  made  of  wool,  about  two  inches  long  and 
twelve  or  fifteen  wide. 

From  Lincolnton  to  Chester  court  house  in  the  state 
of  South  Carolina,  it  is  computed  to  be  about  seventy 
miles.  For  the  whole  of  this  space  the  earth  is  light  and 
of  an  inferior  quality  to  that  situated  between  Morganton 
and  Lincolnton,  although  the  mass  of  the  forests  is  com- 
posed of  various  species  of  oaks;  in  the  mean  time  the 
pines  are  in  such  abundance  there,  that  for  several  miles 
the  ground  is  covered  [271]  with  nothing  else.  Planta- 
tions are  so  little  increased  there,  that  we  scarcely  saw 
twenty  where  they  cultivate  cotton  or  Indian  wheat. 
We  passed  by  several  that  had  been  deserted  by  the  own- 
ers as  not  sufficiently  productive:  for  the  inhabitants  of 
Georgia  and  the  two  Carolinas,  who  plant  nothing  but 


294  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

rice,  choose  frequently  rather  to  make  new  clearings  than 
to  keep  their  land  in  a  state  of  producing  annually,  by 
regular  tillage,  as  they  do  in  Europe,  and  even  in  New 
England  and  Pennsylvania.  The  considerable  extent  of 
this  country,  compared  with  the  trifling  population,  gives 
rise  to  these  changes  which  take  place  after  fifteen  or 
twenty  successive  harvests. 

Chester  contains  about  thirty  houses,  built  of  wood; 
among  the  number  are  two  inns  and  two  respectable 
shops.  In  the  principal  county  towns  of  the  Western  and 
Southern  States,  they  have  neither  fairs  nor  markets. 
The  inhabitants  sell  the  produce  of  their  culture  to  shop- 
keepers settled  in  the  small  towns,  or  what  is  more  usual 
in  the  south,  they  convey  them  in  waggons  to  the  sea 
ports. 

[272]  From  Chester  the  country  grows  worse  in  every 
respect.  The  traveller  no  longer  meets  reception  at 
plantations;  he  is  obliged  to  put  up  at  inns,  where  he  is 
badly  accommodated  both  in  point  of  board  and  lodging, 
and  pays  dearer  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  United 
States.  The  reputation  of  these  inns  is  esteemed  accord- 
ing to  the  quantity  and  different  kinds  of  spirits  that 
they  sell,  among  which  French  brandies  hold  always  the 
first  rank,  although  they  are  often  mixed  with  water  for 
the  third  or  fourth  time. 

They  reckon  fifty-five  miles  from  Chester  to  Columbia; 
twenty-five  miles  on  this  side  we  passed  through  Wines- 
borough,  composed  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  houses. 
This  place  is  one  of  the  oldest  inhabited  in  Carolina,  and 
several  planters  of  the  low  country  go  and  spend  the  sum- 
mer and  autumn  there.  Fifteen  miles  on  this  side  Wines- 
borough  the  pine  barrens  begin,  and  thence  to  the  sea 
side  the  country  is  one  continued  forest  composed  of  pines. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  295 

Columbia,  founded  within  these  twenty  years,  is  the 
seat  of  government  for  the  state  of  South  Carolina. 
[273]  It  is  built  about  two  hundred  fathoms  from  the 
Catabaw  River,  upon  an  uniform  spot  of  ground.  The 
number  of  its  houses  does  not  exceed  two  hundred;  they 
are  almost  all  built  of  wood,  and  painted  grey  and  yellow; 
and  although  there  are  very  few  of  them  more  than  two 
stories  high,  they  have  a  very  respectable  appearance. 
The  legislature,  formed  by  the  union  of  the  delegates  of 
different  counties  that  send  them  in  a  number  proportion- 
ate to  their  population,  meet  there  annually  on  the  first  of 
December,  and  all  the  business  is  transacted  in  the  same 
month;  it  then  dissolves,  and,  except  at  that  time,  the 
town  derives  no  particular  advantage  from  being  the 
seat  of  government. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  upper  country,  who  do  not 
approve  of  sending  their  provisions  to  Charleston,  stop 
at  Columbia,  where  they  dispose  of  them  at  several  re- 
spectable shops  established  in  the  town. 

The  river  Catabaw,  about  twenty  fathoms  broad,  is 
only  navigable  during  the  winter;  the  rest  of  the  year  its 
navigation  is  stopped  by  large  rocks  that  intercept  [274] 
its  course.  They  have  been,  nevertheless,  at  work  for 
these  several  years  past  in  forming  a  canal  to  facilitate 
the  descent  of  the  boats,  but  the  work  goes  on  very  slowly 
for  the  want  of  hands,  although  the  workmen  are  paid 
at  the  rate  of  a  dollar  per  day. 

Columbia  is  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from 
Charleston;  for  the  whole  of  this  space,  and  particularly 
from  Orangeburgh,  composed  of  twenty  houses,  the 
road  crosses  an  even  country,  sandy  and  dry  during  the 
summer;  whilst  in  the  autumn  and  winter  it  is  so  covered 
with  water  that  in  several  places,  for  the  space  of  eight 


296  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

or  ten  miles,  the  horses  are  up  to  their  middles.  Every 
two  or  three  miles  we  meet  with  a  miserable  log-house 
upon  the  road,  surrounded  with  little  fields  of  Indian  corn, 
the  slender  stalks  of  which  are  very  seldom  more  than 
five  or  six  feet  high,  and  which,  from  the  second  harvest, 
do  not  yield  more  than  four  or  five  bushels  per  acre. 
In  the  mean  time,  notwithstanding  their  sterility,  this  land 
is  sold  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  per  acre. 

The  extreme  unwholesomeness  of  the  climate  is  [275] 
clearly  demonstrated  by  the  pale  and  livid  countenances 
of  the  inhabitants,  who,  during  the  months  of  September 
and  October,  are  almost  all  affected  with  tertian  fevers, 
insomuch  that  at  this  period  of  the  year  Georgia  and  the 
Lower  Carolinas  resemble,  in  some  measure,  an  extensive 
hospital.  Very  few  persons  take  any  remedy,  but  wait 
the  approach  of  the  first  frosts,  which,  provided  they  live 
so  long,  generally  effect  a  cure.  The  negroes  are  much 
less  subject  to  intermittent  fevers  than  the  whites;  and  it 
is  seldom  that  in  the  great  rice  plantations  there  is  more 
than  one  fifth  of  them  disabled  on  this  account. 

[276]  CHAP.  XXXI 

General  observations  on  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia. — 
Agriculture  and  produce  peculiar  to  the  upper  part  of 
these  states. 

The  two  Carolinas  and  Georgia  are  naturally  divided 
into  the  upper  and  lower  country,  but  the  upper  em- 
braces a  greater  extent.  Just  at  the  point  where  the 
maritime  part  is  terminated  the  soil  rises  gradually  till 
it  reaches  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  presents,  upon 
the  whole,  a  ground  rather  irregular  than  mountainous, 
and  interspersed  with  little  hills  as  far  as  the  mountains. 
The  Alleghanies  give  birth  to  a  great  number  of  creeks  or 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux  s  Travels  297 

small  rivers,  the  junction  of  which  forms  the  rivers  Pidea, 
Santea,  [277]  Savannah,  and  Alatamaha,  which  are 
hardly  navigable  above  two  hundred  miles  from  their 
embouchure.  In  the  upper  country  the  most  fertile  lands 
are  situated  upon  the  borders  of  these  creeks.  Those 
that  occupy  the  intermediate  spaces  are  much  less  so. 
The  latter  are  not  much  cultivated;  and  even  those  who 
occupy  them  are  obliged  to  be  perpetually  clearing  them, 
in  order  to  obtain  more  abundant  harvests;  in  consequence 
of  which  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants  emigrate  into 
the  western  country,  where  they  are  attracted  by  the  ex- 
treme fertility  of  the  soil  and  low  price  of  land ;  since  that 
of  the  first  class  may  be  purchased  for  the  same  money 
as  that  of  the  second  in  Upper  Carolina;  and,  as  we  have 
already  said,  the  latter  is  scarcely  to  be  compared  to 
that  which  in  Kentucky  and  Cumberland  is  ranked  in 
the  third. 

In  the  upper  country  the  mass  of  the  forests  is  chiefly 
composed  of  oaks,  nut  trees,  maples,  and  poplars.  Ches- 
nut  trees  do  not  begin  to  appear  in  these  states  for  sixty 
miles  on  this  side  the  mountains.  [278]  It  is  only  in  the 
remote  parts  that  the  inhabitants  manufacture  maple 
sugar  for  their  use. 

Through  the  whole  of  the  country  the  nature  of  the 
soil  is  adapted  for  the  growth  of  wheat,  rye,  and  Indian 
corn.  Good  land  produces  upward  of  twenty  bushels  of 
Indian  wheat  per  acre,  which  is  commonly  worth  about 
half  a  dollar  per  bushel.  A  general  consumption  is  made 
of  it  for  the  support  of  the  inhabitants  since,  except  those 
who  are  of  German  origin,  there  are  very  few,  as  we  have 
before  remarked,  that  make  use  of  wheaten  bread.  The 
growth  of  corn  is  very  circumscribed,  and  the  small 
quantity  of  flour  that  is  exported  to  Charleston  and 


298  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Savannah  is  sold  fifteen  per  cent,  cheaper  than  that  im- 
ported from  Philadelphia. 

The  low  price  to  which  tobacco  is  fallen  in  Europe, 
within  these  few  years,  has  made  them  give  up  the  cul- 
ture of  it  in  this  part  of  the  country.  That  of  green-seed 
cotton  has  resumed  its  place,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the 
inhabitants,  many  of  whom  have  since  made  their  fortunes 
by  it.  The  separation  [279]  of  the  seed  from  the  felt 
that  envelopes  them  is  a  tedious  operation,  and  which 
requires  many  hands,  is  now  simplified  by  a  machine  for 
which  the  inventor  has  obtained  a  patent  from  the  federal 
government.  The  legislature  of  South  Carolina  paid 
him,  three  years  since,  the  sum  of  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  for  all  the  inhabitants  belonging  to  the  state  to  have 
the  privilege  of  erecting  one.  This  machine,  very  sim- 
ple, and  the  price  of  which  does  not  exceed  sixty  dollars, 
is  put  in  motion  by  a  horse  or  by  a  current  of  water,  and 
separates  from  the  seed  three  or  four  hundred  pounds  of 
cotton  per  day;  while  by  the  usual  method,  a  man  is  not 
able  to  separate  above  thirty  pounds.  This  machine,  it  is 
true,  has  the  inconvenience  of  shortening  by  haggling  it; 
the  wool,  on  that  account,  is  rather  inferior  in  point  of 
quality,  but  this  inconvenience  is,  they  say,  well  compen- 
sated by  the  saving  of  time,  and  more  particularly  work- 
manship.60 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  various  species  of  fruit  trees 
that  we  have  in  France  would  succeed  very  well  [280] 
in  Upper  Carolina.  About  two  hundred  miles  from  the 
sea-coast  the  apple  trees  are  magnificent,  and  in  the  county 
of  Lincoln  several  Germans  make  cyder.  But  here,  as 
well  as  in  Tennessea,  and  the  greatest  part  of  Kentucky, 

60  For  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin,  and  its  effect  on  the  growth  of  cotton 
culture,  see  Hammond,  "Cotton  Industry,"  in  American  Economic  Associa- 
tion Publications,  i  (new  series). —  Ed. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux 's  Travels  299 

they  cultivate  no  other  but  the  peach.  The  other  kinds 
of  trees,  such  as  pears,  apricots,  plumbs,  cherries,  almonds, 
mulberries,  nuts,  and  gooseberries,  are  very  little  known, 
except  by  name.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  who  are 
independent  would  be  happy  to  procure  some  of  them, 
but  the  distance  from  the  sea-ports  renders  it  very  dim- 
cult.  The  major  part  of  the  inhabitants  do  not  even 
cultivate  vegetables;  and  out  of  twenty  there  is  scarcely 
one  of  them  that  plants  a  small  bed  of  cabbages;  and 
when  they  do,  it  is  in  the  same  field  as  the  Indian  wheat. 

In  Upper  Carolina  the  surface  of  the  soil  is  covered 
with  a  kind  of  grass,  which  grows  in  greater  abundance 
as  the  forests  are  more  open.  The  woods  are  also  like  a 
common,  where  the  inhabitants  turn  out  their  cattle, 
which  they  know  again  by  their  [281]  private  mark. 
Several  persons  have  in  their  flocks  a  variety  of  poll  oxen, 
which  are  not  more  esteemed  than  those  of  the  common 
species.  In  the  whole  course  of  my  travels  I  never  saw 
any  that  could  be  compared  to  those  I  have  seen  in 
England,  which  beyond  doubt  proceeds  from  the  little 
care  that  the  inhabitants  take  of  them,  and  from  what 
these  animals  suffer  during  the  summer,  when  they  are 
cruelly  tormented  by  an  innumerable  multitude  of  ticks 
and  muskitos,  and  in  the  winter,  through  the  want  of 
grass,  which  dries  up  through  the  effect  of  the  first  frosts. 
These  inconveniences  are  still  more  sensible,  during  the 
summer,  in  the  low  country,  through  the  extreme  heat 
of  the  climate.  The  result  is,  that  the  cows  give  but  little 
milk,  and  are  dry  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  months. 
In  the  environs  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  where 
they  bestow  the  same  care  upon  them  as  in  England,  they 
are,  on  the  contrary,  as  fine,  and  give  as  great  a  quantity 
of  milk. 


300  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  horses  that  they  rear  in  this  part  of  the  [282] 
southern  states  are  inferior  to  those  of  the  western.  The 
inhabitants  keep  but  very  few  sheep,  and  those  who  have 
a  dozen  are  accounted  to  have  a  great  number. 

The  commercial  intercourse  of  the  Upper  Carolines 
and  Georgia  is  carried  on,  in  a  great  measure,  with 
Charleston,  which  is  not  much  farther  than  Wilmington 
and  Savannah.  The  inhabitants  go  there  in  preference, 
because  the  commerce  is  more  active,  and  the  sales  more 
easy.  The  articles  they  carry  there  consists  chiefly  in 
short  cotton,  tobacco,  hams,  salt  butter,  wax,  stag,  and 
bear  skins,  and  cattle.  They  take,  in  return,  coarse  iron 
ware,  tea,  coffee,  powder  sugar,  coarse  cloths,  and  fine 
linen,  but  no  bar  iron,  the  upper  country  abounding  in 
mines  of  that  metal,  and  those  which  are  worked  sufficing 
the  wants  of  the  inhabitants.  They  also  bring  salt  from 
the  sea-ports,  since  there  are  no  salt  pits  in  any  part  of 
the  Atlantic  states.  The  carriage  of  these  goods  is  made 
in  large  waggons  with  four  wheels,  drawn  by  four  or  six 
horses,  that  travel  [283]  about  twenty-four  miles  a  day, 
and  encamp  every  evening  in  the  woods.  The  price  of 
conveyance  is  about  three  shillings  and  four-pence  per 
hundred  weight  for  every  hundred  miles. 

Although  the  climate  of  the  Upper  Carolinas  is  infin- 
itely more  wholesome  than  that  of  the  lower  parts,  it  is 
not,  in  the  mean  time,  at  two  hundred  miles,  and  even 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  from  the  ocean,  that  a  person  is 
safe  from  the  yellow  fever. 

Eight-tenths  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try are  in  the  same  situation  as  those  of  Tennessea  and 
Kentucky.  They  reside,  like  the  latter,  in  log-houses 
isolated  in  the  woods,  which  are  left  open  in  the  night  as 
well  as  the  day.    They  live  in  the  same  manner  with  re- 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  301 

gard  to  their  domestic  affairs,  and  follow  the  same  plans 
of  agriculture.  Notwithstanding  there  are  many  of  them 
whose  moral  characters,  perhaps,  are  not  so  unspotted 
as  those  of  the  western  inhabitants,  it  is  probably  altered 
by  associating  with  the  Scotch  and  Irish  who  come  every 
year  in  great  numbers  to  settle  in  the  country,  and  [284] 
who  teach  them  a  part  of  their  vices  and  defects,  the  usual 
attendants  on  a  great  population.  The  major  part  of 
these  new  adventurers  go  into  the  upper  country,  where 
they  engage  to  serve,  for  a  year  or  two,  those  persons  who 
have  paid  the  captain  of  the  ship  for  their  passage. 

[285]  CHAP.  XXXII 

Low  -part  of  the  Carolines  and  Georgia. — Agriculture. — 
Population. — Arrival  at  Charleston 

The  low  country  of  the  two  Carolinas  extends  from 
the  borders  of  the  sea  for  a  hundred  and  twenty  or  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles,  widening  as  it  gets  towards  the  south. 
The  space  that  this  extent  embraces  presents  an  even 
and  regular  soil,  formed  by  a  blackish  sand,  rather  deep 
in  parts,  in  which  there  are  neither  stones  nor  flints;  in 
consequence  of  which  they  seldom  shoe  their  horses  in 
that  part  of  the  United  States.  Seven-tenths  of  the 
country  are  [286]  covered  with  pines  of  one  species,  or 
pinus  palustris,  which,  as  the  soil  is  drier  and  lighter,  grow 
loftier  and  not  so  branchy.  These  trees,  frequently  twenty 
feet  distant  from  each  other,  are  not  damaged  by  the  fire 
that  they  make  here  annually  in  the  woods,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  spring,  to  burn  the  grass  and  other  plants 
that  the  frost  has  killed.  These  pines,  encumbered  with 
very  few  branches,  and  which  split  even,  are  preferred  to 
other  trees  to  form  fences  for  plantations.  Notwith- 
standing the  sterility  of  the  land  where  they  grow,  they 


302  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

are  sometimes  interspersed  with  three  kinds  of  oaks;  viz. 
the  quercus  nigra,  the  quercus  catasbcei,  and  the  quercus 
obtusiloba.  The  wood  of  the  two  first  is  only  fit  to  burn, 
whilst  that  of  the  other  is  of  an  excellent  use,  as  I  have 
before  remarked. 

The  Pine  Barrens  are  crossed  by  little  swamps,  in  the 
midst  of  which  generally  flows  a  rivulet.  These  swamps, 
from  ten  to  forty  fathoms  broad,  are  sometimes  more  than 
a  mile  in  length,  and  border  on  others,  more  spacious  and 
marshy,  near  the  rivers.  [287]  Each  have  different  de- 
grees of  fertility,  clearly  indicated  by  the  trees  that  grow 
there  exclusively,  and  which  are  not  to  be  found  in  the 
upper  country.  Thus  the  chesnut  oak,  or  quercus 
prinus  palustris,  the  magnolia  grandiflora,  the  magnolia 
tripetala,  the  nyssa  biflora,  &c.  flourish  only  in  swamps 
where  the  soil  is  of  a  good  quality,  and  continually  cool, 
moist,  and  shady.  In  some  parts  of  these  same  swamps, 
that  are  half  the  year  submerged,  where  the  earth  is 
black,  muddy,  and  reposes  upon  a  clayey  bottom,  the 
acacia-leaved  cypress,  the  gleditsia  monosperme,  the 
lyric  oak,  and  the  bunchy  nut-tree,  the  nuts  of  which  are 
small,  and  break  easily  between  the  fingers.  The  aquatic 
oak,  the  red  maple,  the  magnolia  glauca,  the  liquidambar 
stiracyflua,  the  nyssa  villosa,  the  Gordonia  lasyanthus, 
and  the  laurus  Caroliniensis,  cover,  on  the  contrary,  ex- 
clusively the  narrow  swamps  of  the  Pine  Barrens. 

The  Spanish  beard,  tillandsia  asneoides,  a  kind  of  moss 
of  a  greyish  colour,  which  is  several  feet  in  length,  and 
which  grows  in  abundance  upon  the  [288]  oaks  and  other 
trees,  is  again  a  plant  peculiar  to  the  low  country. 

In  those  districts  where  there  are  no  pines,  the  soil  is 
not  so  dry,  deeper,  and  more  productive.  We  found 
there  white  oaks,  or  quercus  alba,  aquatic  oaks,  or  quercus 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  303 

aquatica,  chesnut  oaks,  or  quercus  prinus  palustris,  and 
several  species  of  nut-trees.  The  whole  of  these  trees 
are  here  an  index  of  the  greatest  fertility,  which  does  not 
take  place  in  the  western  country,  as  I  have  before  ob- 
served. 

The  best  rice  plantations  are  established  in  the  great 
swamps,  that  favour  the  watering  of  them  when  con- 
venient. The  harvests  are  abundant  there,  and  the  rice 
that  proceeds  from  them,  stripped  of  its  husk,  is  larger, 
more  transparent,  and  is  sold  dearer  than  that  which  is 
in  a  drier  soil,  where  they  have  not  the  means  or  facility 
of  irrigation.  The  culture  of  rice  in  the  southern  and 
maritime  part  of  the  United  States  has  greatly  diminished 
within  these  few  years;  it  has  been  in  a  great  measure 
replaced  by  that  of  cotton,  which  affords  greater  profit  to 
the  planters,  [289]  since  they  compute  a  good  cotton  har- 
vest equivalent  to  two  of  rice.  The  result  is,  that  many 
rice  fields  have  been  transformed  into  those  of  cotton, 
avoiding  as  much  as  possible  the  water  penetrating. 

The  soil  most  adapted  for  the  culture  of  cotton  is  in 
the  isles  situate  upon  the  coast.  Those  which  belong  to 
the  state  of  Georgia  produce  the  best  of  cotton,  which  is 
known  in  the  French  trade  by  the  name  of  Georgia  cot- 
ton, fine  wool,  and  in  England  by  that  of  Sea  Island  cot- 
ton. The  seed  of  this  kind  of  cotton  is  of  a  deep  black, 
and  the  wool  fine  and  very  long.  In  February  1803  it 
was  sold  at  Charleston  at  is.  8d.  per  pound,  whilst  that 
which  grows  in  the  upper  country  is  not  worth  above 
seventeen  or  eighteen  pence.  The  first  is  exported  to 
England,  and  the  other  goes  to  France;  but  what  is  very 
remarkable  is,  that  whenever  by  any  circumstance  they 
import  these  two  qualities  into  our  ports,  they  only  admit 
of  a  difference  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  per  cent.    The 


304  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

cotton  planters  have  particularly  to  dread  the  frosts 
that  set  in  very  early,  and  that  frequently  [290]  do  great 
damage  to  the  crops  by  freezing  one  half  of  the  stalks,  so 
that  the  cotton  has  not  an  opportunity  to  ripen. 

In  all  the  plantations  they  cultivate  Indian  corn.  The 
best  land  brings  from  fifteen  to  twenty  bushels.  They 
plant  it,  as  well  as  the  cotton,  about  two  feet  and  a  half 
distance,  in  parallel  furrows  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
inches  high.  The  seed  of  this  kind  of  Indian  corn  is 
round,  and  very  white.  When  boiled  it  is  preferable  to 
that  cultivated  in  the  middle  and  western  states,  and  in 
Upper  Carolina.  The  chief  part  of  what  they  grow  is 
destined  to  support  the  negroes  nine  months  in  the  year; 
their  allowance  is  about  two  pounds  per  day,  which  they 
boil  in  water  after  having  pounded  it  a  little;  the  other 
three  months  they  are  fed  upon  yams.  They  never  give 
them  meat.  In  the  other  parts  of  the  United  States  they 
are  better  treated,  and  live  nearly  upon  the  same  as  their 
masters,  without  having  any  set  allowance.  Indian  corn 
is  sold  at  Charleston  for  ten  shillings  per  bushel,  about 
fifty-five  pounds  weight. 

[291]  Thus  rice,  long  cotton,  yams,  and  Indian  wheat, 
are  the  only  cultures  in  the  maritime  part  of  the  southern 
states;  the  temperature  of  the  climate,  and  the  nature  of 
the  soil,  which  is  too  light  or  too  moist,  being  in  no  wise 
favourable  for  that  of  wheat  or  any  kind  of  grain. 

Through  the  whole  of  the  low  country  the  agricultural 
labours  are  performed  by  negro  slaves,  and  the  major 
part  of  the  planters  employ  them  to  drag  the  plough ;  they 
conceive  the  land  is  better  cultivated,  and  calculate  be- 
sides that  in  the  course  of  a  year  a  horse,  for  food  and 
looking  after,  costs  ten  times  more  than  a  negro,  the 
annual  expense  of  which  does  not  exceed  fifteen  dollars. 


1802]  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels  305 

I  shall  abstain  from  any  reflexion  concerning  this,  as 
the  opinion  of  many  people  is  fixed. 

The  climate  of  Lower  Carolina  and  Georgia  is  too  warm 
in  summer  to  be  favourable  to  European  fruit-trees,  and 
too  cold  in  winter  to  suit  those  of  the  Carribbees.  The 
fig  is  the  only  tree  that  succeeds  tolerably  well;  again,  the 
figs  turn  sour  a  few  days  after  [292]  they  have  acquired 
the  last  degree  of  maturity,  which  must  doubtless  be 
attributed  to  the  constant  dampness  of  the  atmosphere. 

In  the  environs  of  Charleston,  and  in  the  isles  that 
border  the  coast,  the  orange-trees  stand  the  winter  in  the 
open  fields,  and  are  seldom  damaged  by  the  frosts;  but  at 
ten  miles  distance,  in  the  interior,  they  freeze  every  year 
even  with  the  ground,  although  those  parts  of  the  country 
are  situate  under  a  more  southerly  latitude  than  Malta 
and  Tunis.  The  oranges  that  they  gather  in  Carolina 
are  not  good  to  eat.  Those  consumed  there  come  from 
the  island  of  St.  Anastasia,  situate  opposite  St.  Augustin, 
the  capital  of  East  Florida ;  they  are  sweet,  very  large,  fine 
skinned,  and  more  esteemed  than  those  brought  from 
the  Carribbees.  About  fifty  years  ago  the  seeds  were 
brought  from  India,  and  given  to  an  inhabitant  of  this 
island,  who  has  so  increased  them  that  he  has  got  an 
orchard  of  forty  acres.  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
this  beautiful  plantation  when  I  was  at  Florida  in  1 788. 

[293]  In  the  general  verification  of  the  United  States, 
published  in  1800,  the  population  of  North  Carolina, 
comprising  negro  slaves,  amounted  to  four  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  thousand  inhabitants,  that  of  Georgia  to 
one  hundred  and  sixty-three  thousand,  and  that  of  South 
Carolina  to  three  hundred  and  forty-six  thousand.  Not 
having  been  able  to  see  the  private  extracts  of  the  two 
former  states,  I  am  unacquainted  with  the  proportion 


306  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

that  there  is  between  the  whites  and  blacks,  and  the 
difference  that  exists  between  the  population  of  the  low 
and  high  countries;  however  an  idea  may  be  formed  by 
the  verification  of  South  Carolina,  where  they  reckon  in 
the  low  country,  comprising  the  town  of  Charleston, 
thirty-six  thousand  whites  and  a  hundred  thousand 
negroes,  and  in  the  high  country  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  thousand  whites  and  forty- six  thousand  negroes. 

I  arrived^at  Charleston  on  the  18th  of  October  1802, 
three  months  and  a  half  after  my  departure  from  Phila- 
delphia, having  travelled  over  a  space  of  [294]  nearly 
eighteen  hundred  miles.  I  staid  at  Carolina  till  the  1st 
of  March  1803,  the  epoch  when  I  embarked  for  France 
on  board  the  same  ship  that  had  taken  me  to  America 
eighteen  months  before,  and  arrived  at  Bourdeaux  on  the 
26th  of  March  1803. 

THE  END 


Journal  of  a  Tour  .  .  .  Northwest  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains,  by  Thaddeus  Mason  Harris, 
A.  M.  

Reprint  from  Boston  edition,  1805;  the  Journal  proper,  omitting 

the  Appendix  thereto 


THE 

JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR 

INTO      THS 

Territory  Northwejl  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains  ; 

Made  in  the  Spring  of  the  Year  1803. 

JtlVL 

A  GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  OF 

THE 

&tatt  Of  4Di)io* 

Itfuftrated  with  Original  Maps  and  Views, 

■illMMMiii 
BY 

THADDEUS  MASON  HARRIS,  a.  m. 

Member  of  the  Maflachufetts  Hiftorical  Society. 


"  Profuit  ct  varios  mores,  hominumque  locorumque 

Explorafle  fitus,  multas  cum  peregrinavit 

Aut  vidifle  ipfum  uxbes,  aut  narrantibus  illas 

Ex  aliis  noviffe."  Vi  D  jb.,  poet. 


Bofton : 

KUHTED  BY  MANNING  cif  LORING,  NO.  2,  CORNHILI* 


1805. 


Dijtrict  of  Majjachujetts,  to  wit. 

BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  that  on  the  firft  day  of  February,  in  the 
twenty-ninth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  Ameri- 
ca, Thaddeus  Mason  Harris,  of  the  faid  Diftrict,  hath  depofited 
in  this  office  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  Author, 
in  the  words  following,  to  wit: — ' '  The  Journal  of  a  Tour  into  the  Ter- 
ritory Northwef t  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains ;  made  in  the  Spring  of 
the  year  1803.  With  a  geographical  and  historical  Account  of  the 
State  of  Ohio.  By  Thaddeus  Mason  Harris,  A.M.  Member  of 
the  Maffachufetts  Hiftorical  Society. —  Illuftrated  with  1.  An  original 
Map  of  the  Alleghany,  Monongahela,  and  Yohiogany  Rivers.  2.  A 
Map  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  by  the  Hon.  Rufus  Putnam,  Efq.  Surveyor 
General  of  the  United  States,  made  from  actual  Surveys.  3.  A  Map 
of  the  Tract  appropriated  by  Congrefs  for  Military  Services;  on 
which  the  Sections  are  laid  down  and  marked  by  Numbers,  &c.  4. 
A  Ground  Plat  of  the  City  Marietta.  5.  A  View  of  the  Ancient 
Mounds  and  Fortifications  on  the  Mufkingum.' ' 

In  Conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  Congrefs  of  the  United  States,  enti- 
tled, "An  Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  Learning,  by  fecuring  the 
Copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors 
of  fuch  Copies,  during  the  Times  therein  mentioned;"  and  alfo  to  an 
Act,  entitled, ' '  An  Act  fupplementary  to  an  Act,  entitled,  An  Act  for 
the  Encouragement  of  Learning,  by  fecuring  the  Copies  of  Maps, 
Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  fuch  Copies, 
during  the  Times  therein  mentioned;  and  extending  the  Benefits 
thereof  to  the  Arts  of  Defigning,  Engraving,  and  Etching,  Hiftorical 
and  other  Prints.' ' 

N.  GOO  DALE,  Clerk  0}  the  Dijtrict  of  Majjachujetts. 

A  true  Copy  of  Record.     Atteft: 

N.  Goodale,  Clerk. 


TO  THE 

Hon.   RUFUS    PUTNAM,   Efq. 

GENERAL  IN  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  LATE  REVOLUTIONARY 
WAR,  AND  SINCE  SURVEYOR  GENERAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  &C.  &C.1 

Permit  me,  dear  Sir,  to  infcribe  to  you  the  following 
pages,  in  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  hofpitality  and 
kindnefs  you  fhowed  me  while  at  Marietta,  and  of  the 
readinefs  with  which  you  anfwered  my  inquiries  refpect- 
ing  the  State  of  Ohio. 

I  am  fenfible  that  the  geographical  fketches  I  have 
given  of  that  Territory  will  appear  very  imperfect  to  you, 
who  have  fo  intimate  an  acquaintance  with  every  part 
of  it;  but  to  others  they  may  convey  information  more 
particular  and  correct  than  has  been  hitherto  publifhed. 

As  the  founder  and  father  of  the  State,  you  will  feel 
interefted  in  the  details  I  have  given;  and,  I  hope,  will 
not  be  wholly  difappointed  [iv]  with  my  attempt  to  de- 
fcribe  a  part  of  our  country  fo  rapidly  increafing  in  popu- 
lation and  importance. 

Relying  on  your  candor,  and  encouraged  by  the  very 
nattering  manner  in  which  you  have  feconded  my  pro- 

1  General  Rufus  Putnam  (born  in  Massachusetts,  1738)  served  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War,  and  later  with  distinction  in  the  Revolution.  He  is  best  known 
to  history  as  the  superintendent  of  the  Ohio  Company  and  the  founder  of  the 
soldier-colony  at  Marietta.  Self-educated,  and  rising  to  prominence  by  force 
of  will  and  character,  his  accomplishments  in  engineering  and  surveying,  and 
his  services  to  Western  development,  were  valuable.  Washington  appointed 
him  surveyor-general  for  the  United  States  (1793),  which  position  he  held  for 
ten  years,  when  removed  as  a  Federalist  by  Jefferson.  His  interests  during  all 
the  later  years  of  his  life  were  bound  up  with  those  of  Ohio  and  the  Marietta 
settlement.  At  his  death  (1824)  he  was  (with  the  exception  of  Lafayette) 
the  last  surviving  general  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  army. —  Ed. 


3 1  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

pofals  for  this  publication,  I  am  led  to  flatter  myfelf  that, 
while  you  condefcend  to  take  the  work  under  your  patro- 
nage, you  will  confider  it  as  the  offering  of  one  whofe  ad- 
arefs  on  this  occafion  proceeds  from  the  pure  motive  of 
veneration  for  a  character  fo  worthily  diftinguifhed,  and 
from  the  honeft  ambition  of  being  known  as  your  friend. 

THADDEUS  MASON  HARRIS 


INTRODUCTION 

Having  long  laboured  under  wafting  ficknefs,  which 
obliged  me  for  a  time  to  relinquifh  the  duties  of  my  minis- 
try; my  mind,  naturally  feeble  and  timid,  funk  under  its 
depreffions  and  yielded  to  defpondency.  To  divert  its 
attention,  by  directing  its  regards  to  objects  remote  from 
its  corroding  cares,  and  to  benefit  my  bodily  health  by 
means  of  exercife  and  change  of  climate,  my  phyficians 
urged  my  taking  a  journey. 

A  much  efteemed  neighbour,  Mr.  Seth  Adams,  was 
about  making  an  excurfion  into  the  Territory  North- 
west of  the  Ohio,  and  propofed  my  accompanying  him 
thither.  My  brother  in  law,  Mr.  John  Drx,  kindly 
offered  to  be  my  attendant,  and  affifted  me  in  fummoning 
refolution  for  the  undertaking. 

On  the  29  th  of  March,  1803,  we  fet  out  on  the  tour. 
We  took  the  poft  road  from  Bofton,  through  New- York 
and  Philadelphia,  to  Lancafter;  and  thence,  through 
Carlifle  and  Shippenfburgh,  to  Strafburgh  at  the  foot  of 
the  [vi]  Alleghany  Mountains.  Here  commence  the  ex- 
tracts from  my  journal. 

For  the  gratification  of  my  family  and  a  few  friends,  I 
kept  a  record  of  the  occurrences  each  day  afforded,  and 
fome  particulars  of  the  feveral  towns  through  which  we 
paffed.  I  was  advifed,  on  my  return,  to  communicate 
the  Geographical  articles  to  the  public;  and  I  have  con- 
fented,  from  a  willingnefs  to  contribute  my  mite,  however 
infignificant,  to  the  common  ftock  of  the  topographical 
knowledge  of  our  country. 


3 1 4  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

I  am  aware  that  many  of  the  remarks  and  obfervations 
may  appear  defultory  or  trivial:  but  fome  indulgence  is 
due  to  them  from  the  circumftances  under  which  they 
were  made.  They  were  firft  fketched  down,  as  oppor- 
tunity prefented,  in  a  pocket-book  with  a  lead  pencil; 
and  at  evening  tranfcribed  into  my  diary.  They  confift 
of  fuch  reflections  as  were  made  upon  the  places  and  the 
profpects  immediately  under  my  eye,  and  of  fuch  infor- 
mation as  could  be  collected  from  intelligent  individuals 
with  whom  I  had  the  opportunity  of  converfing.  The 
whole  is  the  fruit  of  thofe  moments  of  leifure,  (refcued 
from  a  fatiguing  journey)  which  the  languor  and  pain  of  a 
miferable  ftate  of  health  would  permit  me  to  employ. 

I  hope  the  freedom  with  which  I  have  expatiated  on 
the  defcription  of  foreft  and  mountain  [vii]  fcenery  will 
not  be  unpleafing  to  thofe  who  have  never  had  the  privi- 
lege of  beholding  the  grand  and  prominent  features  of 
nature,  or  of  penetrating  its  fequeftered  glooms.  For 
myfelf,  I  have  always  been  an  admirer  of  the  fublime  and 
beautiful  in  creation;  and  the  immediate  effect  upon  my 
feelings,  produced  by  umbrageous  forefts,  and  by  con- 
templating extended  profpects  from  lofty  mountains,  was 
of  fo  pleafurable  and  exalted  a  kind,  that  I  wifhed  to 
retain  the  impreffion  to  myfelf,  and,  as  well  as  I  could, 
communicate  it  to  others,  by  a  defcription  taken  on  the 
fpot. 

' '  A  state  of  convalefcence  (fays  a  fine  writer2)  appears 
to  me  to  be  that  of  all  others,  which  is  moft  open  to,  and 
which  indulges  moft  in,  the  melancholy  and  awful  im- 
preffions:  and  the  tranfitions  from  the  fublime  to  the 
pleafing,  and  from  the  founds  of  difcordance  to  thofe  of 
melody,  have  their  alternate  and  fympathetic  effects,  and 

2  Beckford.     Hiftory  of  Jamaica,  vol.  i.  p.  191. —  Harris. 


1803]  Harris's  Journal  3 1 5 

have  confequently  their  attractions.  Every  object  de- 
lights the  eye,  and  every  murmur  of  the  grove  is  in  unifon 
with  the  foul.  The  con valef cent  has  his  hopes,  his 
wifhes,  and  his  fears;  but  the  remembrance  of  ficknefs 
melts  them  down  to  resigned  patience,  and  humble  expec- 
tation." 

[viii]  An  apology  is  neceffary  for  the  delay  of  the  publi- 
cation. This  has  been  partly  occafioned  by  waiting  for 
the  return  of  the  fubfcription  papers,  and  partly  by  the 
length  of  time  neceffary  to  complete  the  engravings  and 
the  impreffion. 

To  the  candor  of  the  Public, 

I  fubmit  my  work ; 

to  the 

providence  and  favour  of  Almighty  God, 

I  commend  my  beloved  Family; 

and  to  the  hopes, 

not  of  the  pref  ent, 

but 

of  the  future  life, 

I  refign  myfelf . 

Dorchester  > 
Jan.  1805.    ) 


PART  I 

Journey  over  the  Alleghany  Mountains  into  the 

State  of  Ohio 

"Sylvae  umbrofae,  montes  excelfi,  fertilefque  valles,  varias  praebent 
amoenitates  ad  Viatorem  delectandum" 


JOURNAL 

Thursday,  April  7,  1803 

Having  ridden  this  morning  from  Shippenfburgh,  a 
diftance  of  eleven  miles,  we  (topped  at  Strasburg  to 
breakfaft.3 

As  we  approached  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  their  form 
and  magnificence  became  more  and  more  diftinct.  We 
had,  for  feveral  days  paft,  feen  their  blue  tops  towering 
into  the  fky,  alternately  hidden  and  difplayed  by  rolling 
and  fhifting  clouds.  Now,  we  afcertained  that  fome  of 
them  were  quite  covered  with  trees;  but  that  the  rocky 
and  bleak  tops  of  others  were  naked,  or  fcantily  fringed 
with  low  favins. 

These  ftupendous  mountains  feemed  to  ftretch  before 
us  an  impaf fable  barrier;  but,  at  times,  we  could  fee  the 
narrow  winding  [12]  road  by  which  we  were  to  afcend, 
though  it  apprized  us  of  the  fatigue  and  difficulty  to  be 
encountered  in  the  undertaking.  Our  apprehenfions, 
however,  were  fomewhat  abated  by  information  that,  the 
way,  though  more  fteep,  was  not  fo  rough,  nor  much  more 
difficult  than  the  Connewago  Hills  we  had  already  paffed. 

Strasburg  is  a  pleafant  poft-town  in  Franklin  County, 
Pennfylvania.     It  is  fituated  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue 

3  Harris  travelled  westward  by  the  Pennsylvania  State  Road,  the  great 
thoroughfare  to  the  Western  country.  It  was  completed  about  1785,  and  passed 
west  from  Carlisle  through  Shippensburg,  Strasburg,  and  Bedford.  Beyond 
Bedford  the  road  forked,  and  Harris  took  the  lower,  or  Glade  Road.  Michaux 
had  gone  out  the  preceding  year  by  the  northern  branch,  also  reaching  Carlisle 
by  a  different  route.  For  a  more  detailed  description  than  Michaux  gives,  see 
Cuming,  Sketcfies  of  a  Tour  of  the  Western  Country  (Pittsburg,  1810),  which 
will  be  republished  as  vol.  iv  of  the  present  series. —  Ed. 


320  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Mountain,  the  firft  of  the  great  range  of  the  Alleghanies. 
It  contains  about  eighty  houfes,  principally  built  of  hewn 
logs,  with  the  interftices  between  them  filled  with  flat 
ftones  and  mortar.  They  ftand  on  a  main  ftreet,  which 
runs  from  north  to  fouth.  On  the  eafterly  fide  of  the 
ftreet,  a  little  back  of  the  houfes,  is  a  fine  fpring  of  excel- 
lent water,  iffuing  from  feveral  fountains,  over  which  are 
fmall  buildings  erected  for  the  purpofe  of  preferving  milk, 
butter,  and  provifions,  during  the  heats  of  fummer.  So 
copious  is  the  iffue  of  water,  that  it  foon  forms  a  confider- 
able  and  never  failing  brook,  which,  within  the  diftance 
of  half  a  mile,  carries  a  mill.  This  ftream  is  the  wefterly 
branch  of  Conedogwinnet  Creek,  which  [13]  falls  into 
the  Sufquehannah  oppofite  to  Harrifburgh. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  village  are  fubject  to  fevere 
rheumatic  complaints,  in  confequence  of  the  fudden 
changes  of  the  weather  in  this  vicinity  to  the  mountain. 

Near  this  place  is  shewn  a  large  fiffure  in  the  fide  of  the 
mountain,  occafioned  by  the  burfting  of  a  water-fpout. 
The  excavation  is  deep.  Trees,  and  even  rocks,  were 
diflodged  in  its  course. 

The  firft  mountain,  which  is  three  miles  over,  was  not 
fo  difficult  to  pafs  as  we  had  apprehended.  It  is  fteep, 
but  there  are  fome  convenient  refting  places;  and  the 
wefterly  fide  is  rendered  eafy  of  defcent  by  very  judicious 
improvements  in  the  condition  and  turnings  of  the  road. 
The  furface  is  very  rocky;  and  the  trees  towards  the  top 
are  fmall,  and  but  thinly  fcattered.  The  ftone  which 
moftly  prevails  on  its  furface  is  granite,  more  or  lefs  per- 
fect. At  the  foot  is  a  beautiful  and  fertile  valley,  about 
half  a  mile  wide,  and  fifteen  miles  long;  irrigated  by  fine 
fprings,  whofe  ftreams  uniting  form  the  pretty  brook  that 
meanders  through  the  fields  and  meadows  of  this  en- 
chanting place. 


1803]  Harris 's  J 'ournal  321 

[14]  We  f topped  here  awhile,  to  let  our  horfes  reft,  and 
to  bafk  in  the  pleafant  funfhine.  Having  been  chilled 
with  the  air  on  the  fummit  of  the  mountain,  we  were 
pleafed  with  inhaling  the  warm  breeze  of  the  valley. 

The  contraft,  between  the  verdant  meads  and  fertile 
arable  ground  of  this  fecluded  fpot,  and  the  rugged 
mountains  and  frowning  precipices  by  which  it  is  envi- 
roned, gives  the  profpect  we  have  contemplated  a  mixture 
of  romantic  wildnefs  and  cultivated  beauty  which  is 
really  delightful. 

Hence  we  croffed  the  jecond  mountain,  four  miles  over, 
and  f topped  to  dine  at  Fannetsburg,  a  little  village  on  a 
graceful  eminence  fwelling  from  the  bofom  of  the  vale. 
The  houfes  are  all  built  of  wood,  moftly  of  hewn  logs, 
except  our  Inn,  which  is  a  handfome  edifice  of  lime-ftone. 

In  the  afternoon  we  croffed  the  third  ridge,  which  is 
three  miles  and  an  half  over;  in  fome  places  fteep  and 
difficult  of  afcent;  and,  paffing  part  of  the  valley  below, 
reached  a  place  called  Burnt  Cabins  to  lodge.  The 
fettlement  in  this  place  is  named  from  the  deftruction  of 
the  firft  buildings  erected  here,  at  the  time  of  the  defeat 
of  Col.  [15]  Wafhington,  at  the  Little  Meadows  in  1753.4 

4  Harris  is  mistaken  in  his  derivation  of  the  term  "Burnt  Cabins."  Little 
Meadows  is  nearly  a  hundred  miles  west  of  this  place.  Burnt  Cabins  took  its 
name  from  the  dispossession  of  the  settlers  by  the  Pennsylvania  authorities  in 
1750.  About  ten  years  previous,  groups  of  Scotch-Irish  had  begun  to  push 
over  the  Susquehanna  into  the  attractive  basin  of  the  Juniata,  which  was  still 
unpurchased  Indian  territory.  The  aborigines  were  so  incensed  that  a  depu- 
tation went  to  Philadelphia  to  protest,  and  an  Indian  war  appeared  imminent. 
The  government  sent  out  a  commission  headed  by  Secretary  Peters,  and  in- 
cluding George  Croghan  and  Conrad  Weiser  as  members,  to  drive  off  the  in- 
truders and  burn  their  cabins.  The  official  report  is  found  in  Pennsylvania 
Colonial  Records,  v,  pp.  440-449.  The  settlers  themselves  aided  in  the  work, 
and  Peters  remarked,  "It  may  be  proper  to  add,  that  the  Cabbins  or  Log 
Houses  which  were  burnt  were  of  no  considerable  Value,  being  such  as  the 
Country  People  erect  in  a  Day  or  two,  and  cost  only  the  Charge  of  an  Entertain- 
ment [i.e.,  a  log-rolling]."  An  Indian  war  was  thus  averted.  The  locality 
has  retained  its  name  of  Burnt  Cabins  to  the  present  day. —  Ed. 


322  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  temporary  buildings  of  the  firft  fettlers  in  the  wilds 
are  called  Cabins.  They  are  built  with  unhewn  logs,  the 
interftices  between  which  are  ftopped  with  rails,  calked 
with  mofs  or  ftraw,  and  daubed  with  mud.  The  roof  is 
covered  with  a  fort  of  thin  ftaves  fplit  out  of  oak  or  afh, 
about  four  feet  long  and  five  inches  wide,  faftened  on  by 
heavy  poles  being  laid  upon  them.  ' '  If  the  logs  be  hewed ; 
if  the  interftices  be  ftopped  with  f tone,  and  neatly  plaf tered ; 
and  the  roof  compofed  of  fhingles  nicely  laid  on,  it  is  called 
a  log-honje.'' '  A  log-houfe  has  glafs  windows  and  a  chim- 
ney; a  cabin  has  commonly  no  window  at  all,  and  only 
a  hole  at  the  top  for  the  fmoke  to  efcape.  After  faw-mills 
are  erected,  and  boards  can  be  procured,  the  fettlers  pro- 
vide themfelves  more  decent  houfes,  with  neat  floors  and 
ceiling. 

Friday,  April  8 

A  ride  of  thirteen  miles  this  morning  brought  us  to  the 
foot  of  another  mountain,  called  Sideling  Hills,  eight 
miles  over.  This  is  not  like  the  others,  a  diftinct  ridge, 
but  a  fucceffion  of  ridges,  with  long  [16]  afcent  and  defcent 
on  the  main  fides,  and  intermediate  rifings  and  fhort 
vallies  between. 

It  was  a  fine  clear  morning  when  we  began  to  afcend. 
As  we  advanced,  the  profpect  widened  and  became  very 
interefting.  The  deep  and  gloomy  valley  below  was  a 
vaft  wildernefs,  fkirted  by  mountains  of  every  hue  and 
form;  fome  craggy  and  bare,  and  others  wooded  to  the 
top:  but  even  this  extenfive  wild  pleafed  me,  and  gave 
fcope  to  boundlefs  reflection. 

Quitting  the  elevated  region  to  which  we  had  reached, 
we  defcended  about  half  a  mile,  and  then  rofe  another  and 
more  lofty  gradation.  Hence  the  view  was  f till  more 
diverfified  and  magnificent,  crowded  with  mountains  upon 


1803]  Harris's  "Journal  323 

mountains  in  every  direction;  between  and  beyond  which 
were  feen  the  blue  tops  of  others  more  diftant,  mellowed 
down  to  the  fofteft  fhades,  till  all  was  loft  in  unifon  with 
the  clouds. 

As  we  defcended,  we  beheld  the  mifts  rifing  from  the 
deep  vallies,  and  the  clouds  thickening  around.  It  was 
cold  and  bluftering,  and  we  expected  an  immediate  tem- 
peft  and  rain:  but,  as  we  mounted  the  third  ridge,  the 
clouds  broke  away  over  [17]  our  heads;  and,  as  they  dif- 
perf ed,  the  fun  would  f hine  between  and  give  a  gliding  radi- 
ance to  the  opening  fcene.  We  foon  got  beyond  the 
clouded  region,  and  faw  the  mifty  volumes  floating  down 
to  the  vallies  and  encircling  the  lower  hills;  fo  that, 
before  we  reached  the  fummit,  we  had  the  pleafure  of 
looking  abroad  in  an  unclouded  fky. 

"Here  could  we  furvey 

The  gathered  tempefts  rolling  far  beneath, 
And  ftand  above  the  ltorm.' ' 

The  whole  horizon  was  fringed  with  piles  of  diftant 
mountains.  The  intermediate  vallies  were  filled  with 
clouds,  or  obf cured  with  thick  mifts  and  fhade:  but  the 
lofty  fummits,  gilded  with  the  blaze  of  day,  lighted  up 
under  an  azure  heaven,  gave  a  furprifing  grandeur  and 
brilliancy  to  the  whole  fcene. 

The  defcent  is  in  many  places  precipitous  and  rocky. 
At  the  bottom  we  croffed  the  Juniata  in  a  ferry-boat. 
Climbing  the  fteep  banks  of  the  river,  our  rout  was  along 
a  range  of  hills  exhibiting  a  fuccesfion  of  interefting  land- 
fcape.  In  many  parts  we  were  immerfed  in  woods;  then 
again  we  came  into  open  ground,  and  faw  the  winding  [18] 
river  juft  below  us,  and  the  fides  and  tops  of  the  moun- 
tains foaring  above.  Sometimes  we  rode,  for  a  confider- 
able  diftance,  on  the  banks  of  the  river;  then  we  quitted 
it  to  mount  a  hill,  and  here  again, 


324  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

' '  The  bordering  lawn,  the  gaily  flowered  vale, 
The  river's  cryftal,  and  the  meadow's  green, 
Grateful  diverfity,  allure  the  eye." 

Such  tranfitions  yield  fome  of  the  fweeteft  recreations 
which  the  varied  profpect  of  nature  can  afford. 

An  accident  in  breaking  our  carriage,  delayed  us  fo 
long,  that  it  was  evening  before  we  arrived  at  our  Inn. 
We  rode  thirty  miles  this  day. 

Saturday,  April  9 

While  our  carriage  is  repairing  we  reft  at  Capt. 
Graham's,  who  refides  in  a  delightful  valley,  belonging  to 
Providence  townfhip,  in  Briftol  County.5  His  neat  and 
commodious  dwelling  is  principally  built  with  lime-ftone, 
laid  in  mortar.  The  rooms  and  chambers  are  fnug,  and 
handfomely  furnifhed;  and  the  accommodations  and  en- 
tertainment he  provides  are  the  beft  to  be  met  with  be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  Pittfburgh. 

[19]  A  fine  lawn  fpreads  before  the  houfe,  bordered  on 
one  part  by  a  meandering  (brook,  and  on  the  other  by  the 
Juniata  river,  from  the  margin  of  which  rife  the  fteep 
fides  of  Mount  Dallas.  The  trees  of  other  times  add 
hoary  greatnefs  to  its  brow,  and  the  clouds  which  reft  in 
mifty  fhades  upon  its  head  give  it  a  frowning  and  gloomy 
pre-eminence. 

The  Juniata  rifes  from  two  principal  fprings  on  the 
Alleghany  mountains;  one  of  which  is  very  near  the  top, 
and  pours  a  copious  ftream.  It  receives,  alfo,  fupplies 
from  many  fmall  rills  in  its  courfe,  and  working  out  a  bed 
between  the  mountains,  paffes  through  a  gap  in  the  Blue 
ridge,  and  empties  into  the  Sufquehannah,  fifteen  miles 
above  Harrifburg. 

6  This  is  a  misprint  for  Bedford  County,  in  which  East  and  West  Providence 
townships  are  situated. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  "Journal  325 

Back  of  us  the  woods  with  which  one  of  the  mountains 
was  clothed  was  on  fire.  During  the  darknefs  of  the 
night,  the  awfulnefs  and  sublimity  of  this  fpectacle  were 
beyond  defcription ;  terror  mingled  with  it,  for,  as  we  were 
at  no  great  diftance,  we  feared  that  the  fhifting  of  the  wind 
would  drive  the  flames  upon  us. 

[20]   Monday,  April  11 

We  refume  our  journey;  crofs  the  two  branches  of  the 
Juniata,  and  arrive  at  Bedford,  the  chief  town  of  Bed- 
ford County  in  Pennfylvania,  to  breakfaft.  It  is  regu- 
larly laid  out,  and  there  are  feveral  houfes  on  the  main 
ftreet  built  with  bricks;  even  the  others,  which  are  of 
hewn  logs,  have  a  diftinguifhing  neatnefs  in  their  appear- 
ance. The  Court  Houfe,  Market  Houfe,  and  Record 
Office,  are  brick;  the  Gaol  is  built  of  ftone.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  fupplied  with  water  brought  in  pipes  to  a  large 
refervoir  in  the  middle  of  the  town.  On  the  northerly 
fkirt  of  the  town  flows  Rayfton  creek,  a  confiderable 
branch  of  the  Juniata. 

Bedford  was  made  an  incorporate  town  in  1795. 
The  officers  of  police  are  two  Burgeffes,  a  Conftable,  a 
Town  Clerk,  and  three  Affiftants.  Their  power  is  limited 
to  preferve  the  peace  and  order  of  the  place. 

Upon  quitting  the  plain,  we  left  a  fertile  foil  clothed 
with  verdure,  and  a  warm  and  pleafing  climate;  but,  as 
we  afcended  the  mountain,  the  foil  appeared  more  bar- 
ren, and  the  weather  became  colder.  Yet  here  and  there 
we  met  with  a  little  verdant  fpot  [21]  around  a  fpring,  or 
at  the  bottom  of  a  fmall  indenture  in  the  fides  of  the 
mountain.  Climbing  hence,  the  profpect  widened.  Deep 
vallies,  embowered  with  woods,  abrupt  precipices,  and 
cloud-capt  hills,  on  all  fides  met  the  view. 


326  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

In  thefe  mountainous  fcenes  nature  exhibits  her  bold- 
eft  features.  Every  object  is  extended  upon  a  vaf t  fcale ; 
and  the  whole  affemblage  impreffes  the  fpectator  with 
awe  as  well  as  admiration. 

After  many  a  wearifome  afcent,  we  arrived  at  Sey- 
bour's,  on  the  top  of  the  Alleghany;  and,  having  ridden 
thirty-one  miles,  were  fufhciently  tired  to  accept  even  of 
the  miferable  accommodations  this  Inn  afforded  for  the 
night. 

Tuesday,  April  12 

On  leaving  our  lodging  on  "the  higheft  of  hills,"  we 
had  to  defcend  through  fix  miles  of  rugged  paths,  over 
precipices,  and  among  rocks,  and  then  along  a  miry  val- 
ley, with  formidable  afcents  in  view. 

The  Alleghany,  which  we  had  now  croffed,  is  about 
fifteen  miles  over. 

We  defcried  at  a  diftance  the  towering  ridges  of  moun- 
tains, beyond  many  an  intermediate  height;  fome  en- 
circled with  [22]  wreaths  of  clouds,  and  others  pointed 
with  fire  kindled  by  the  hunters,  or  involved  in  curling 
volumes  of  fmoke. 

We  were  the  principal  part  of  the  day  paffing  the  val- 
ley, and  mounting  Laurel  Hill,  which  is  about  three 
miles  in  direct  afcent,  and  lodged  at  Behmer's  near  the 
top,  after  a  journey  of  twenty-four  miles. 

As  the  woods  were  on  fire  all  around  us,  and  the  smoke 
filled  the  air,  we  feemed  to  have  ridden  all  day  in  a  chim- 
ney, and  to  fleep  all  night  in  an  oven. 

Wednesday,  April  13 
This  mountain  has  its  name  from  the  various  fpecies  of 
Laurel  with  which  it  is  clothed;  (Rhododendron  Maxi- 
mum, Kalmia  Latijolia,  &c.)     There  were  feveral  varie- 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  327 

ties  now  in  flower,  which  made  a  moft  elegant  appear- 
ance. 

Our  road,  which  at  beft  muft  be  rugged  and  dreary,  was 
now  much  obftructed  by  the  trees  which  had  fallen  acrofs 
it;  and  our  journey  rendered  hazardous  by  thofe  on  each 
fide  which  trembled  to  their  fall.  We  remarked,  with 
regret  and  indignation,  the  wanton  deftruction  of  thefe 
noble  forefts.  For  more  than  fifty  miles,  to  the  weft  and 
north,  the  mountains  were  burning.  [23]  This  is  done 
by  the  hunters,  who  fet  fire  to  the  dry  leaves  and  decayed 
fallen  timber  in  the  vallies,  in  order  to  thin  the  under- 
growth, that  they  may  traverfe  the  woods  with  more  eafe 
in  purfuit  of  game.  But  they  defeat  their  own  object; 
for  the  fires  drive  the  moofe,  deer,  and  wild  animals  into 
the  more  northerly  and  wefterly  parts,  and  deftroy  the 
turkies,  partridges,  and  quails,  at  this  feafon  on  their 
nefts,  or  just  leading  out  their  broods.  An  incalculable 
injury,  too,  is  done  to  the  woods,  by  preventing  entirely 
the  growth  of  the  trees,  many  of  which  being  on  the 
acclivities  and  rocky  fides  of  the  mountains,  leave  only  the 
moft  dreary  and  irrecoverable  barrennefs  in  their  place. 

We  took  breakfaft  at  Jones'  mill,  fix  miles  from  the  top 
of  Laurel  Hill;  dined  at  Mount  Pleasant,  eleven  miles 
farther;  and  riding  five  miles  in  the  afternoon,  reached 
M'Kean's  to  lodge. 

We  left  Fort  Ligonier,  built  by  Gen.  Forbes  in  1758, 
to  our  right,  and  croffed  the  Chesnut  Ridge,  a  very 
rough  and  rocky  mountain,  the  laft  of  the  great  range,  on 
the  Glade  road.  In  dry  feafons  this  is  confidered  as  much 
better  than  what  is  called  [24]  "Braddock's  road;"  but, 
after  heavy  rains,  it  is  almost  impaffable. 

By  the  rout  we  took  over  the  mountains  the  whole  dif- 
tance  from  Strafburg  is  one  hundred  and  eighteen  miles. 


328  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  road  is  very  rugged  and  difficult  over  the  moun- 
tains; and  we  were  often  led  to  comment  upon  the  arduous 
enterprize  of  the  unfortunate  General  Braddock,  by  whom 
it  was  cut.  Obliged  to  make  a  pafs  for  his  army  and 
waggons,  "through  unfrequented  woods  and  dangerous 
defiles  over  mountains  deemed  impaf fable,"6  the  toil 
and  fatigue  of  his  pioneers  and  foldiers  muft  have  been 
indefcribably  great.  But  it  was  here  that  his  precurfor, 
the  youthful  Washington,  gathered  jome  of  his  earliejt 
laurels.1 

During  the  whole  of  this  journey  there  are  but  a  few 
fcattered  habitations,  of  a  very  ordinary  appearance. 
The  lands,  except  in  the  vallies,  are  of  an  indifferent  qual- 
ity, and  offer  but  little  encouragement  to  the  cultivator. 

The  Alleghany  mountains,  which  we  had  now  paffed, 
confift  of  feveral  nearly  parallel  ridges,  rifing  in  remote 
parts  of  [25]  New- York  and  New-Jerfey,  and  running  a 
fouthwefterly  courfe  till  they  are  loft  in  the  flat  lands  of 
Weft- Florida.  They  have  not  a  continued  top,  but  are 
rather  a  row  or  chain  of  diftinct  hills.  There  are  frequent 
and  large  vallies  dif joining  the  feveral  eminences;  fome  of 
them  fo  deep  as  to  admit  a  paffage  for  the  rivers  which 
empty  themfelves  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  Eaft, 
and  into  the  Gulph  of  Mexico  on  the  South.     It  is  only 

•  See  Gen.  Braddock's  letter  to  Sir  T.  Robinfon,  June  5th,  1755. —  Harris. 

7  Harris's  allusions  to  the  various  roads  are  confusing  and  misleading. 
The  road  (Pennsylvania  State)  which  he  left  to  the  north,  passing  through 
Ligonier  and  Greensburg,  followed  in  the  main  the  route  cut  (1758)  for  Forbes's 
army.  Braddock's  Road  lay  much  to  the  south  of  this,  going  out  from  Fort 
Cumberland,  Maryland,  on  the  Potomac.  The  question  of  the  availability 
of  these  two  roads  was  a  point  at  issue  during  Forbes's  campaign.  See  Hul- 
bert,  Historic  Highways  of  America  (Cleveland,  1903),  vols,  iv,  v.  Harris 
took  neither  Forbes's  Road,  nor  Braddock's  (later  the  line  of  the  Cumberland 
National  Road),  but  what  was  locally  known  as  the  "Old  Glade  Road,"  a 
branch  of  Forbes's  Road,  leaving  the  latter  four  miles  beyond  Bedford,  and 
crossing  to  the  Youghiogheny  through  Somerset  and  Mount  Pleasant. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  329 

in  particular  places  that  thefe  ridges  can  be  croffed. 
Generally  the  road  leads  through  gaps,  and  winds  around 
the  fides  of  the  mountains;  and,  even  at  thefe  places,  is 
fteep  and  difficult. 

The  rocks  and  cliffs  of  the  mountains  are  principally 
grit,  or  free-ftone;  but  in  feveral  places,  particularly 
towards  the  foot,  the  flate  and  lime-ftone  predominate. 
Through  the  Glades,  the  flaty  fchift  and  lime-ftone  is 
abundant.  On  Laurel  Hill,  and  the  mountains  weftward 
of  that,  the  foffil  coal  (Lithanthrax)  abounds,  and  lies 
fo  near  the  furface  that  it  is  difcoverable  in  the  gullies  of 
the  road,  and  among  the  roots  of  trees  that  have  been  over- 
thrown by  the  wind. 

[26]  Thursday,  April  14 

Now  that  we  have  croffed  all  the  mountains,  the  gradual 
and  eafy  flope  of  the  ground  indicates  to  us  that  we  are 
approaching  thof e  vaf t  f avannas  through  which  flow  ' '  the 
Weftern  waters."  The  plain  expands  on  all  fides.  The 
country  affumes  a  different  afpect;  and  even  its  decora- 
tions are  changed.  The  woods  are  thick,  lofty,  and  ex- 
tremely beautiful,  and  prove  a  rich  foil.  A  refrefhing 
verdure  clothes  the  open  meadows.  The  banks  of  the 
brooks  and  river  are  enamelled  with  flowers  of  various 
forms  and  hues.  The  air,  which  before  was  cold  and 
raw,  is  now  mild  and  warm.  Every  breeze  wafts  a 
thoufand  perfumes,  and  fwells  with  the  gay  warblings 
of  feathered  chorifters. 

"Variae,  circumque  fupraque, 


Affuetae  ripis  volucres  et  fluminis  alveo, 
/Ethera  mulcebant  cantu,  lucroque  volabant.' ' 

The  painted  birds  that  haunt  the  golden  tide, 
And  flutter  round  the  banks  on  every  fide, 
Along  the  groves  in  pleafing  triumph  play, 
And  with  foft  mufic  hail  the  vernal  day. 


330  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

The  long  and  tedious  journey  we  had  paffed,  through 
lonefome  woods  and  over  rugged  ways,  contributed  not 
a  little,  perhaps,  [27]  to  enhance  the  agreeablenefs  of  the 
profpect  now  before  us.  Certainly  there  is  fomething 
very  animating  to  the  feelings,  when  a  traveller,  after 
traverfing  a  region  without  culture,  emerges  from  the 
depths  of  folitude,  and  comes  out  upon  an  open,  pleafant, 
and  cultivated  country.  For  myfelf  I  muft  obferve,  that 
the  novelty  and  beauty  of  the  romantic  profpects,  to- 
gether with  the  genial  influence  of  the  vernal  feafon,  were 
peculiarly  reviving  to  my  bodily  frame  for  a  long  time 
weakened  by  ficknefs,  and  exhilarating  to  my  mind  worn 
down  by  anxiety  and  care. 

We  were  now  upon  the  banks  of  the  Yohiogany  River, 
which  we  croffed  at  Budd's  ferry.8 

The  name  of  this  river  is  fpelt,  by  fome  writers  Yoho- 
gany,  and  by  others  Yoxhiogeni;  by  General  Braddock 
it  was  written  Yaughyaughanef  but  the  common  pro- 
nunciation is  Yokagany,  and  the  inhabitants  in  thefe  parts 
call  it  ilthe  Yok  river."  It  rifes  from  fprings  in  the 
Alleghany  mountain,  which  foon  unite  their  ftreams  in 
the  valley,  or,  as  it  is  called,  "the  great  meadows,"  below. 
The  point  where  the  [28]  north  branch  from  the  north- 
ward, the  little  croffing  from  the  foutheaft,  and  the  great 
fouth  branch,  form  a  junction,  three  miles  above  Laurel 

8  The  Old  Glade  Road,  also  locally  known  as  the  Jones's  Mill  Road,  received 
legislative  appropriations  during  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
was  quite  as  popular  as  its  northern  rival,  the  State  Road.  It  crossed  the 
Youghiogheny  at  what  is  now  known  as  West  Newton,  Westmoreland  County. 
The  term  Budd's  Ferry  is  found  upon  a  map  of  1792;  but  in  the  early  part  of 
the  century  it  was  usually  spoken  of  as  Robbstown,  from  the- name  of  the  first 
proprietor.  The  road  is  now  known  as  the  "Wellersburg  and  West  Newton 
plank."— Ed. 

9  Letter  to  Sir  T.  Robinfon,  June  5,  1755. — Harris. 


I 


1803]  Harris's  ^Journal  333 

Hill,  is  called  "the  Turkey  foot."10  With  the  acceffion 
of  fome  fmaller  runs,  it  becomes  a  very  confiderable  and 
beautiful  river.  Purfuing  a  northwefterly  courfe,  as  it 
paffes  through  a  gap  in  Laurel  Hill,  it  precipitates  itfelf 
over  a  ledge  of  rocks  which  lie  nearly  at  right  angles  to 
the  courfe  of  the  ftream,  and  forms  a  noble  cafcade,  called 
"the  Ohiopyle  Falls."  Dr.  Rittenhoufe,  who  has  pub- 
lifhed  a  defcription  of  thefe  falls,  accompanied  with  an 
engraving,  found  the  perpendicular  height  of  the  cata- 
ract to  be  "  about  twenty  feet,  and  the  breadth  of  the  river 
two  hundred  and  forty  feet.11  For  a  confiderable  dif- 
tance  below  the  falls,  the  river  is  very  rapid,  and  boils 
and  foams  vehemently,  occafioning  a  continual  mift 
to  arife  from  it.  The  river  at  this  place  runs  to  the  fouth 
weft,  but  prefently  winds  round  to  the  northweft,  and 
continuing  this  general  courfe  for  thirty  or  forty  miles, 
it  lofes  its  name  by  uniting  with  the  Monongahela,  which 
comes  from  the  fouthward,  and  contains  perhaps  twice 
as  much  water.' ' 

[29]  The  navigation  of  this  river  is  obftructed  by  the 
falls  and  the  rapids  below  for  ten  miles ;  but  thence  to  the 
Monongahela,  boats  that  draw  but  three  feet  of  water  may 
pafs  freely,  except  in  dry  feafons. 

The  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  is  uneven;  but  in 

10  The  Youghiogheny  is  said  to  owe  its  name  to  the  Kanawha  Indians,  and 
to  signify  "four  streams;"  that  is,  the  three  branches  —  Laurel  Hill  Creek,  the 
northern;  Castleman's  River,  the  middle,  or  southeast  fork;  and  the  South 
fork  —  unite  to  form  the  fourth  or  main  stream  of  the  river.  The  point  of 
intersection  was  appropriately  named  Turkey's  Foot,  and  at  the  site  is  the 
present  town  of  Confluence,  Somerset  County. —  Ed. 

11  The  name  of  these  falls  in  the  Youghiogheny  River  probably  signifies 
"beautiful  cascade."  At  present  the  total  descent  is  thirty-six  feet,  and  the 
direct  fall  sixteen.  The  cascade  is  utilized  for  water-power  at  the  present 
Falls  City,  Fayette  County.  For  sketch  of  Rittenhouse,  see  Michaux's  Travels, 
ante,  p.  51. —  Ed. 


Ifc 


1803]  Harris's  journal  333 

Hill,  is  called  "the  Turkey  foot."10  With  the  acceffion 
of  fome  fmaller  runs,  it  becomes  a  very  confiderable  and 
beautiful  river.  Purfuing  a  northwefterly  courfe,  as  it 
paffes  through  a  gap  in  Laurel  Hill,  it  precipitates  itfelf 
over  a  ledge  of  rocks  which  lie  nearly  at  right  angles  to 
the  courfe  of  the  ftream,  and  forms  a  noble  cafcade,  called 
1 '  the  Ohiopyle  Falls.' '  Dr.  Rittenhoufe,  who  has  pub- 
lifhed  a  defcription  of  thefe  falls,  accompanied  with  an 
engraving,  found  the  perpendicular  height  of  the  cata- 
ract to  be  "  about  twenty  feet,  and  the  breadth  of  the  river 
two  hundred  and  forty  feet.11  For  a  confiderable  dif- 
tance  below  the  falls,  the  river  is  very  rapid,  and  boils 
and  foams  vehemently,  occafioning  a  continual  mift 
to  arife  from  it.  The  river  at  this  place  runs  to  the  fouth 
weft,  but  prefently  winds  round  to  the  northweft,  and 
continuing  this  general  courfe  for  thirty  or  forty  miles, 
it  lofes  its  name  by  uniting  with  the  Monongahela,  which 
comes  from  the  fouthward,  and  contains  perhaps  twice 
as  much  water." 

[29]  The  navigation  of  this  river  is  obftructed  by  the 
falls  and  the  rapids  below  for  ten  miles;  but  thence  to  the 
Monongahela,  boats  that  draw  but  three  feet  of  water  may 
pafs  freely,  except  in  dry  feafons. 

The  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  is  uneven;  but  in 

10  The  Youghiogheny  is  said  to  owe  its  name  to  the  Kanawha  Indians,  and 
to  signify  "four  streams;"  that  is,  the  three  branches  —  Laurel  Hill  Creek,  the 
northern;  Castleman's  River,  the  middle,  or  southeast  fork;  and  the  South 
fork  —  unite  to  form  the  fourth  or  main  stream  of  the  river.  The  point  of 
intersection  was  appropriately  named  Turkey's  Foot,  and  at  the  site  is  the 
present  town  of  Confluence,  Somerset  County. —  Ed. 

11  The  name  of  these  falls  in  the  Youghiogheny  River  probably  signifies 
"beautiful  cascade."  At  present  the  total  descent  is  thirty-six  feet,  and  the 
direct  fall  sixteen.  The  cascade  is  utilized  for  water-power  at  the  present 
Falls  City,  Fayette  County.  For  sketch  of  Rittenhouse,  see  Michaux's  Travels, 
ante,  p.  51. —  Ed. 


334  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

the  vallies  the  foil  is  extremely  rich.  The  whole  region 
abounds  with  coal,  which  lies  almoft  on  the  furface. 

We  garnifhed  our  bouquet  to  day  with  the  beautiful 
white  flowers  of  the  Blood  root,  (Sanguinaria  Canadenjis) 
called  by  the  Indians  ' '  Puccoon : ' '  they  fomewhat  ref em- 
ble  thofe  of  the  Narciffus.  This  plant  grows  in  mellow 
high  land.  The  root  yields  a  bright  red  tincture,  with 
which  the  Indians  ufed  to  paint  themfelves,  and  to  colour 
fome  of  their  manufactures,  particularly  their  cane  baf- 
kets. — The  root  poffeffes  emetic  qualities. — Tranfplanted 
into  our  gardens,  this  would  be  admired  as  an  ornamental 
flower,  while  the  roots  would  furnifh  artifts  with  a  brilliant 
paint  or  dye,  and  perhaps  be  adopted  into  the  Materia 
Medica  as  a  valuable  drug. 

At  Elizabethtown,  about  eighteen  miles  from  Pittfburg, 
we  croffed  the  Monongahela.12  Having  collected  par- 
ticular information  [30]  refpecting  this  river  and  the 
Alleghany,  and  an  account  of  the  fettlements  upon  their 
banks,  I  infert  it  in  this  place.13 

The  Monongahela  takes  its  rife  at  the  foot  of  Laurel 
Hill  in  Virginia,  about  Lat.  380  30'  N.  Thence  meander- 
ing in  a  north  by  eaft  direction  it  paffes  into  Pennsylvania, 
and  at  laft,  uniting  its  waters  with  thofe  of  the  Alleghany 
at  Pittfburg,  forms  the  noble  Ohio. 

The  fettlements  on  both  fides  of  this  river  are  fine  and 
extenfive,  and  the  land  is  good  and  well  cultivated. 
Numerous  trading  and  family  boats  pafs  continually. 
In  the  fpring  and  fall  the  river  feems  covered  with  them. 
The  former,  laden  with  flour,  whifkey,  peach-brandy, 
cider,  bacon,  iron,  potters'  ware,  cabinet  work,  &c.  all 

12  For  note  on  Elizabethtown,  see  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  ante,  p.  162. 
—  Ed. 

13  Partly  from  a  little  pamphlet,  publifhed  at  Pittfburg,  called  "The  Ohio 
Navigator,"  with  fuch  other  remarks  as  my  own  obfervation  and,  inquiries 
could  fupply. —  Harris. 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  335 

the  produce  or  manufacture  of  the  country,  are  deftined 
for  Kentucky,  and  New  Orleans,  or  the  towns  on  the 
Spanifh  fide  of  the  Miffifippi.  The  latter  convey  the 
families  of  emigrants,  with  their  furniture,  farming 
utenfils,  &c.  to  the  new  fettlements  they  have  in  view. 
Thefe  boats  are  generally  called  ' '  Arks ; ' '  and  are  f aid  to 
have  been  invented  by  Mr.  [31]  Krudger,  on  the  Juniata, 
about  ten  years  ago.  They  are  fquare,  and  flat-bottomed ; 
about  forty  feet  by  fifteen,  with  fides  fix  feet  deep;  cov- 
ered with  a  roof  of  thin  boards,  and  accommodated  with 
a  fire-place.  They  will  hold  from  200  to  500  barrels  of 
flour.  They  require  but  four  hands  to  navigate  them; 
carry  no  fail,  and  are  wafted  down  by  the  current. 

The  banks  of  the  river  oppofite  to  Pittfburg,  and  on 
each  fide  for  fome  diftance,  or  rather  the  high  hills  whofe 
feet  it  laves,  appear  to  be  one  entire  body  of  coal.  This 
is  of  great  advantage  to  that  flourifhing  town;  for  it 
fupplies  all  their  fires,  and  enables  them  to  referve  their 
timber  and  wood  for  fhip  building  and  the  ufe  of  mechan- 
icks. 

Morgantown,  which  is  one  hundred  and  feven  miles 
from  Pittfburg,  may  be  confidered  as  the  head  of  navi- 
gation on  the  Monongahela.14 

This  is  a  flourifhing  town,  pleafantly  fituated  on  the 
eaft  fide  of  the  river.  It  contains  about  fixty  dwelling- 
houfes,  a  Court-houfe,  and  ftone  Gaol.  It  is  the  fhire 
town  for  the  counties  of  Harrifon,  [32]  Monongalia, 
Ohio,  and  Randolph,  in  Virginia. 

Eight  miles  below  this  town  the  Cheat  River  enters; 
three  or  four  miles  within  the  Pennfylvania  line.  "It  is 
200  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  100  yards  at  the  Dun- 
kard's  fettlement  fifty  miles  higher;  and  is  navigable  for 

M  For  the  early  history  of  Morgantown,  see  F-  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  ante, 
p.  162. —  Ed. 


3  3  6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

boats  except  in  dry  feafons.  There  is  a  portage  of 
thirty-feven  miles  from  this  river  to  the  Potomac  at  the 
mouth  of  Savage  river."15  16 

Two  miles  lower  down  it  receives  the  waters  of  Dun- 
karoVs  Creek  on  the  weft  fide ;  and  ten  miles  lower  George'' s 
Creek  joins  it  on  the  eaft.  Juft  below  the  mouth  of  this 
creek  is  fituated  New  Geneva,  a  thriving  poft-town,  a 
place  of  much  bufinefs,  and  rendered  famous  by  the 
glafs-works  in  its  vicinity,  which  not  only  fupply  the 
neighbourhood  with  window-glafs,  bottles,  &c.  but  fend 
large  quantities  down  the  river.  There  is  alfo  a  paper- 
mill,  and  a  manufactory  for  mufkets,  in  the  place.  Arks, 
and  other  boats  are  built  here.17 

A  little  below,  and  on  the  other  fide  of  the  river,  lies 
Greensburgh,  fo  called  in  honor  of  the  late  General 
Greene.     It  is  a  neat  little  village.18 

[33]  Within  the  diftance  of  twenty-three  miles  from 
this  enter  Big  Whitely  Creek,  Little  Whitely,  Brown's  run, 

15  Jefferfon's  Notes  on  Virginia. —  Harris. 

18  The  citation  from  Jefferson's  Notes  on  Virginia  ends  with  the  word 
"seasons."  Jefferson  does,  however,  discuss  the  portage  from  the  Cheat  to 
the  Potomac,  which  he  says  "will  be  from  15  to  40  miles,  according  to  the 
trouble  which  shall  be  taken  to  approach  the  two  navigations."  A  canal 
connecting  these  two  water-systems  was  a  favorite  project  of  both  Jefferson  and 
Washington;  the  latter  at  one  time  estimated  that  it  would  not  need  to  exceed 
twenty  miles  in  length. —  Ed. 

17  New  Geneva  was  originally  laid  out  by  Albert  Gallatin,  who  came  to 
America  in  1780,  and  four  years  later  bought  a  farm  at  the  junction  of  George's 
Creek  with  the  Monongahela.  The  name  of  the  town  was  given  in  honor  of  its 
founder's  birthplace,  and  through  his  influence  a  number  of  Swiss  emigrants 
settled  at  this  place.  The  glass  works  were  established  by  Gallatin  (1795)  in 
conjunction  with  two  German  partners,  the  Kramers  brothers.  Gallatin's 
country  house  near  New  Geneva  was  entitled  ' '  Friendship  Hill,' '  and  thereat 
he  entertained  Lafayette  on  his  last  visit  to  America. —  Ed. 

18  This  is  not  to  be  confused  with  Greensburg,  the  county-seat  for  Westmore- 
land. Greensburg  (now  Greensboro),  here  mentioned,  is  on  the  Monongahela 
in  Greene  County,  nearly  opposite  New  Geneva,  and  was  laid  out  by  Galla- 
tin's friend  and  compatriot,  Badollet. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  "Journal  337 

Middle  run,  CaVs  run,  Muddy  Creek,  and  Ten  mile  run. 
Near  the  latter  is  Fredericktown,  a  pretty  village  on  the 
weft  fide  of  the  river. 

Seven  miles  lower  down,  immediately  above  the  mouth 
of  Dunlap's  Creek,  on  the  eaft  fide,  is  Bridgeport,  a 
fmall  thriving  town,  connected  with  Brownfville  by  a 
neat  bridge  260  feet  long. 

Brownsville,  formerly  called  "Redftone  old  fort," 
is  a  poft-town,  belonging  to  Fayette  County  in  Pennfyl- 
vania.  Though  extremely  pleafant,  and  commanding 
a  moft  extenfive  and  interefting  profpect  of  the  river, 
the  creeks,  and  the  fine  country  around,  it  feems  rather 
difadvantageoufly  fituated  on  account  of  the  fteep  de- 
clivity of  the  hill  on  which  it  is  principally  built.  It  con- 
tains about  one  hundred  and  fifty  houfes,  and  five  hundred 
inhabitants.  There  is  a  Roman  Catholic  church  here, 
and  four  Friends'  meeting-houfes  in  the  vicinity. 

An  extenfive  paper-mill  on  Redjtone  Creek,  a  rope- 
walk,  a  brewery,  feveral  valuable  manufactories,  and 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  town  twenty-four  faw,  grift,  oil, 
and  [34]  fulling  mills,  render  this  a  place  of  much  bufi- 
nefs.  The  trade  and  emigration  down  the  river  employ 
boat-builders  very  profitably.  About  one  hundred  boats 
of  twenty  tons  each  are  faid  to  be  built  here  annually. 

On  the  fouth  fide  of  Redftone  Creek  formerly  ftood 
Byrd's  Fort.19 

About  nineteen  miles  below  is  Williamsport,  a  grow- 
ing fettlement,  on  the  direct  road  from  Philadelphia  to 
Wheeling. 

Twelve  miles  lower  is  Elizabethtown,  on  the  fouth- 
eaft  fide  of  the  river,  containing  about  fixty  houfes.     At 

18  For  the  early  history  of  Brownsville,  and  the  erection  of  Fort  Burd,  see 
F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  ante,  p.  159;  also,  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied  Ohio. —  Ed. 


338  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

this  place  much  bufinefs  is  done  in  boat  and  fhip  build- 
ing. The  "Monongahela  Farmer,"  and  other  veffels  of 
confiderable  burden,  were  built  here,  and,  laden  with  the 
produce  of  the  adjacent  country,  were  fent  to  the  Weft- 
India  iflands.20 

Eight  miles  farther  is  McKeesport,  fituated  juft  below 
the  junction  of  the  Yohiogany  with  the  Monongahela. 
Many  boats  are  built  here  for  tranfportation  and  the  ufe 
of  thofe  who  emigrate  to  the  weftern  country.  The  place 
is  growing  in  bufinefs,  and  moft  probably  will  rife  into 
confiderable  importance. 

[35]  Having  received  the  Yohiogany,  and  waters  from 
feveral  creeks,  the  river  winds  its  courfe,  with  replenifhed 
ftream,  till  it  unites  with  the  Alleghany  below  Pittfburg, 
where  it  is  about  four  hundred  yards  wide. 

Braddock's  Field  is  at  the  head  of  Turtle  Creek,  feven 
miles  from  Pittfburg.  Here  that  brave,  but  unfortunate 
General  engaged  a  party  of  Indians,  was  repulfed,  him- 
felf  mortally  wounded,  and  his  army  put  to  flight,  July 

9,  I755-21 

The  Alleghany  River,   by  the  Delaware  Indians 

called  "Alligewifipo,"22  rifes  on  the  weftern  fide  of  the 
mountain  from  which  it  derives  its  name.  Its  head  is  near 
Sinemahoning  Creek,  a  boatable  ftream  that  falls  into 
the  Sufquehannah;  to  which  there  is  a  portage  of  twenty- 
two  miles.  Another  branch  tends  towards  Le  Boeuf, 
whence  is  a  portage  of  only  fifteen  miles  to  Prefq'  Ifle, 

20  Many  sailing  vessels  were  built  upon  the  Monongahela  from  1810-11.  In 
the  latter  year  the  first  steamboat  was  launched  at  Pittsburg,  and  sailing  vessels 
were  soon  superseded. —  Ed. 

21  The  site  of  Braddock's  field  is  now  occupied  by  the  manufacturing  town 
which  takes  its  name  from  the  unfortunate  British  general.  See  Thwaites, 
On  the  Storied  Ohio. —  Ed. 

22  Lofkiel's  Hiftory  of  Moravian  miffions  in  America. —  Harris. 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  339 

one  of  the  fineft  harbours  on  Lake  Erie.  This  diftance  is 
a  continued  chefnut-bottom  fwamp,  except  about  one 
mile  from  Le  Boeuf,  and  two  miles  from  Prefq'  Ifle; 
and  the  road  between  thefe  two  places,  fome  years  ago, 
for  nine  miles,  was  made  by  a  kind  of  caufeway  of  logs.23 
There  has  been  [36]  lately  an  Act  of  the  Affembly  of 
Pennfylvania  for  forming  a  turnpike  over  it. 

Presq'  Isle,  which  owed  its  name  to  the  form  of  a 
large  point  of  land  jutting  into  the  Lake,  and  by  its  curva- 
ture making  a  very  commodious  harbour  capable  of  ad- 
mitting veffels  drawing  nine  feet  of  water,  is  now  called 
Erie;  having  been  laid  out  a  few  years  fince  by  the  Legif- 
lature  of  the  State  upon  a  large  fcale,  and  made  the  fhire 
town  of  Erie  county.  Commanding  an  extenfive  trade 
through  the  Lakes,  and  then  down  the  Alleghany,  Ohio, 
and  Miffifippi,  the  fituation  of  this  place  was  confidered 
as  very  important,  and  great  encouragement  was  given 
to  fettlers.  But  a  prevailing  fever  for  fome  time  retarded 
the  fettlement.  It  is  faid,  however,  that  this  obftacle  is 
now  nearly,  if  not  entirely  removed;  and  that  the  place 
rapidly  increafes  in  population  and  importance. 

A  post-office  is  eftablifhed  here,  which  receives  the 
mail  from  Philadelphia  once  every  fecond  week. 

Le  Boeuf,  now  called  Waterford,  is  a  growing  fet- 
tlement at  the  head  of  the  north  branch  of  French  Creek. 
A  poft-ofhce  is,  alfo,  kept  here. 

[37]  The  old  French  fort  Le  Boeuf,  was  about  two 
miles  eaft  from  Small  Lake.  This  was  formerly  one  of 
the  weftern  pofts,  but  is  now  evacuated.24 

23  For  the  early  history  of  Presqu'  Isle,  and  the  road  built  thence  by  the 
French  expedition  of  1753,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this  series,  p.  101, 
note  62. —  Ed. 

24  For  the  history  of  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  p.  102,  note  65. —  Ed. 


34°  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Forty-eight  miles  lower  down  on  French  Creek  is 
Meadville,  a  thriving  poft-town,  and  the  feat  of  justice 
for  the  counties  of  Warren  and  Crawford,  to  the  latter 
of  which  it  belongs.  It  contains  about  one  hundred 
houfes,  and  feveral  ft  ores;  and  is  a  place  of  confiderable 
bufinefs.25 

Immediately  below  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  at  the 
place  where  it  unites  with  the  northeafterly  branch  of  the 
Alleghany  river,  is  Franklin,  a  poft-town,  containing 
about  fifty  houfes,  and  feveral  ftores.  It  is  the  fhire  town 
for  Venango  county.  The  river  is  here  two  hundred 
yards  wide. 

Near  this  was  the  antient  poft  Venango,  and  on  the 
fcite  of  this  town  was  erected  Fort  Franklin  in  the  year 
1787,  to  defend  the  frontiers  of  Pennfylvania  from  the 
depredations  of  the  neighbouring  Indians. 

About  one  hundred  miles  lower  down,  as  the  river  runs, 
or  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  from  Erie,  is  Freeport, 
on  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  Creek,  and  oppofite  [38]  to 
Kiskimenetas,  a  confiderable  branch  of  the  Alleghany 
river.  The  head  waters  of  this  branch  are  Little  Cone- 
maugh  and  Stone  Creek,  which  rife  from  the  foot  of  the 
Alleghany  mountain,  and  pafs  in  a  N.N.W.  direction 
through  gaps  in  the  Laurel  Hill  and  Chefnut  Ridge. 
After  their  junction  the  principal  ftream  is  called  Cone- 
matjgh  River.  But,  having  received  Black  Lick  from 
the  N.  E.  and,  feventeen  miles  from  its  mouth,  Loyal- 


25  Meadville  was  the  earliest  settlement  in  northwest  Pennsylvania,  west  of 
the  Allegheny  River.  About  1 788  a  party  came  out  from  Wyoming  Valley,  led 
by  David  Mead,  who  afterwards  was  judge  and  major-general  of  militia  for 
the  district.  The  settlement  was  almost  exterminated  during  the  Indian 
wars,  and  its  inhabitants  obliged  to  take  refuge  at  Fort  Franklin.  Neverthe- 
less, Meadville  was  laid  out  as  a  town  in  1793.  It  is  the  seat  of  Allegheny 
College,  founded  in  181 5. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  "Journal  341 

hannon  Creek  from  the  S.  S.  E.  it  is  called  the  Kiskimene- 
tas  River.  It  is  navigable  for  batteaux  forty  or  fifty 
miles,  and  good  portages  are  found  between  it  and  the 
Juniata  and  Potomac  rivers.  A  batteau  is  a  flat-bot- 
tomed boat,  wideft  in  the  middle,  and  tapering  to  a  point 
at  each  end,  of  about  1500  weight  burden;  and  is  managed 
by  two  men  with  paddles  and  fetting-poles. 

At  the  mouth  of  Sandy  Creek,  a,  veffel  of  160  tons  burden 
was  lately  launched,  took  in  her  cargo,  and  failed  for  the 
Weft-Indies. 

The  principal  creeks  and  tributary  ftreams  with  which 
the  Alleghany  river  is  replenifhed,  are  delineated  on  the 
Map,  I  believe  with  a  good  degree  of  accuracy;  but  a 
particular  account  of  each  it  was  not  in  [39]  my  power  to 
obtain.  The  junction  of  this  river  with  the  Monongahela 
at  Pittfburg  has  been  already  mentioned. 

The  Alleghany  is  remarkable  for  the  clearnefs  of  its 
waters  and  the  rapidity  of  its  current;  and  the  frefhets  in 
it  are  greater  and  more  fudden  than  thofe  of  its  connubial 
ftream.26  It  feldom  happens  that  it  does  not  mark  its 
courfe  acrofs  the  mouth  of  the  Monongahela,  with  whofe 
turbid  and  fluggifh  waters  it  forms  a  very  obfervable 
contraft.  It  is  curious,  alfo,  in  the  time  of  the  fpring 
floods  to  fee  the  Alleghany  full  of  ice,  and  the  Mononga- 
hela entirely  free.  Thefe  floods  are  occafioned  by  the 
diffolution  of  the  immenfe  bodies  of  ice  and  fnow 
accumulated  during  winter  in  thofe  northern  regions 
through  which  the  river  paffes,  and  by  the  heavy  falls  of 
rain  at  the  fetting  in  and  breaking  up  of  winter. 

26  The  word  frejhet,  fays  the  late  Dr.  Belknap,  means  a  river  fwollen  by 
rain  or  melted  fnow,  in  the  interior  country,  rifing  above  its  ufual  level,  fpread- 
ing  over  the  adjacent  low  lands,  and  rufhing  with  an  accelerated  current  to 
the  fea. — Hift.  of  New  Hampfhire,  v.  3.  preface. —  Harris. 


342  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Friday,  April  15 

We  this  morning  arrived  at  Pittsburg,  a  poft-town  in 
Pennfylvania,  and  the  capital  [40]  of  Alleghany  County. 
It  is  built  at  the  point  of  land  formed  by  the  junction  of 
the  two  rivers;  and  is  in  N.  Lat.  400  26'  15",  and  Longi- 
tude (in  time)  5  hours,  19  minutes,  and  53  feconds  W.  of 
Greenwich. 

Immediately  on  the  point  was  erected  the  old  French 
garrifon  Du  Quejne,  built  by  M.  de  la  Jonquier  at  the 
command  of  the  Marquis  du  Quefne,  Governor  of  Canada, 
in  1754.27  General  Forbes,  who  took  it  Nov.  25,  1758, 
built  a  new  fort,  which  he  called  "Fort  Pitt,"  in  honor  of 
the  Earl  of  Chatham;  adjacent  to  the  former,  but  higher 
up  the  Monongahela.  !  It  was  formerly  a  place  of  fome 
confequence  in  the  annals  of  frontier  fettlements;  but 
fell  into  decay  upon  its  being  given  up  by  its  founders. 
Being  included  in  one  of  the  manors  of  the  Penn  family,  it 
was  fold  by  the  proprietaries,  and  is  now  laid  out  in  houfe- 
lots  as  a  part  of  the  town  of  Pittfburg,  which  was  built  in 
the  year  1765. 

The  local  fituation  of  this  place  is  fo  commanding  that 
it  has  been  emphatically  called  ' '  the  key  to  the  Weftern 
Territory;"  and  it  has  rapidly  increafed  in  population, 
bufinefs,  and  profperity  within  a  few  years  paft.  It  con- 
tains upwards  of  four  hundred  [41]  houfes,  feveral  of 
them  large  and  handfomely  built  of  brick;  forty-nine  are 
occupied  as  ftores  and  fhops.  There  are  three  congrega- 
tions; an  Epifcopalian,  a  Prefbyterian,  and  a  Seceder. 
The  number  of  inhabitants  is  about  two  thoufand. 

There  are  two  printing-offices,  each  of  which  iffue  a 
weekly  news-paper;  and  many  mechanics,  who  carry  on 

27  For  a  brief  notice  of  Fort  Duquesne,  see  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  ante, 
p.  156,  note  20. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  "Journal  343 

moft  of  the  manufactures  that  are  to  be  met  with  in  any 
other  part  of  the  United  States.  Two  glafs-houfes  have 
been  lately  erected,  and  are  wrought  to  great  advantage.28 
They  make  window-glafs,  bottles,  &c.  This  is  an  eftab- 
lifhment  of  the  firft  importance  to  this  part  of  the  country; 
for  the  tranfportation  of  thefe  brittle  articles  from  Phila- 
delphia over  the  mountains  has  been  attended  with  much 
hazard,  as  well  as  expenfe.  Articles  of  cabinet  work  are> 
alfo,  made  at  Pittfburg  of  their  native  woods,  which  fup- 
ply  many  of  the  fettlements  on  both  fides  of  the  Ohio  and 
Miffifippi.  The  furniture  made  of  the  black  walnut, 
wild  cherry,  and  yellow  birch,  is  very  ftrong  and  handfome, 
and  admits  of  a  beautiful  polifh.  The  tinplate  manu- 
factory, that  for  cutting  nails,  and  the  fmiths'  fhops  for 
making  axes  and  [42]  farming  utenfils,  rind  a  ready  and 
extenfive  market  for  all  their  articles. 

Dry  goods  in  general  are  fold  nearly  as  cheap  as  at 
Baltimore;  other  goods,  are,  on  account  of  the  carriage, 
which  is  four  dollars  fifty  cents  from  Baltimore  and  five 
dollars  pr.  100  lbs.  from  Philadelphia,  proportionably 
higher.  The  merchants  here,  as  well  as  thofe  of  the 
weftern  country,  receive  their  goods  from  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore;  but  a  fmall  part  of  the  trade  being  given 
to  New- York  and  Alexandria.  The  terms  of  credit  are 
generally  from  nine  to  twelve  months.  The  produce 
which  they  receive  of  the  farmers  is  fent  to  New  Orleans; 
the  proceeds  of  which  are  remitted  to  the  Atlantic  States, 
to  meet  their  payments. 

Most  of  the  articles  of  merchandize  brought  in  wag- 
gons over  the  mountains  in  the  fummer  feafon,  and 
deftined  for  the  trade  down  the  river,  are  ftored  at  this 

28  For  the  two  Pittsburg   newspapers,  see   F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  ante 
p.  157,  note  21.     The  glass  works  were  built  by  General  James  O'Hara. —  E  ? 


344  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

place,  to  be  ready  for  embarkation.  With  thefe  a  great 
many  trading  boats  are  laden,  which  float  down  the  river, 
{topping  at  the  towns  on  its  banks  to  vend  the  articles. 
In  a  country,  fo  remote  from  commerce,  and  of  fo  great 
extent,  where  each  one  refides  [43]  on  his  own  farm,  and 
has  neither  opportunity  nor  convenience  for  vifiting  a 
market,  thefe  trading  boats  contribute  very  much  to  the 
accommodation  of  life,  by  bringing  to  every  man's  houfe 
thofe  little  neceffaries  which  it  would  be  very  troublefome 
to  go  a  great  diftance  to  procure. 

At  and  near  this  place,  fhip-building  is  an  object  of 
great  attention.  Several  veffels  are  now  on  the  ftocks; 
and  three  have  been  launched  this  fpring,  from  160  to 
275  tons  burden. 

The  principal  navigation  of  the  Ohio  river  is  during  the 
floods  of  the  fpring  and  autumn.  The  fpring  feafon  com- 
mences at  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  the  Alleghany, 
which  generally  happens  about  the  middle  of  February, 
and  continues  for  eight  or  ten  weeks.  The  fall  feafon  is 
occafioned  by  the  autumnal  rains  in  October,  and  lafts 
till  about  the  beginning  of  December,  when  the  ice  begins 
to  form.  But  the  times  of  high-water  can  fcarcely  be 
called  periodical;  for  they  vary  confiderably  as  the  feafon 
is  dry  or  rainy,  and  with  the  later  fetting  in  or  breaking 
up  of  winter.  Sometimes,  alfo,  the  falling  of  heavy 
fhowers  on  the  mountains,  during  the  fummer,  will  fo 
[44]  fwell  the  fources  of  the  Monongahela  as  to  fupply  a 
temporary  fufliciency  of  water  for  the  purpofe  of  naviga- 
tion. 

In  the  time  of  the  frefhets  the  Ohio  rifes  from  fifteen  to 
thirty  feet,  and  fometimes  even  higher;  overflowing  its 
banks  to  a  very  confiderable  diftance.  The  rife  is  gen- 
erally fudden,  often  ten  feet  in  twenty-four  hours.     The 


1803]  Harris's  ^Journal  345 

increafe  is  not  regular.  At  times  the  water  will  fall  four 
or  five  feet,  and  then  rise  again.  The  flood  maintains 
its  greateft  height  about  a  week  or  ten  days,  and  then 
gradually  fubfides,  till  the  river  is  reduced  to  its  ufual 
depth.  By  fpreading  over  the  flat  lands  a  rich  coating  of 
leaves,  decayed  vegetables,  and  loam,  wafhed  down  by 
the  rain  from  the  fides  of  the  hills,  thefe  inundations 
greatly  promote  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

Fort  Fayette,  built  a  few  years  fince,  is  within  the 
limits  of  the  town  of  Pittfburg.  It  is  erected  on  the  banks 
of  the  Alleghany.  At  prefent  a  garrifon  is  kept  there, 
which,  for  the  moft  part,  is  made  head-quarters  of  the 
United  States  army.29 

The  high  ground  back  of  the  fort,  called  "Grant's 
hill,"  commands  a  moft  extenfive  profpect,  taking  in  a 
view  of  the  two  rivers  [45]  for  feveral  miles  above  and 
below  their  junction.30 

The  inhabitants  ufe  the  water  of  the  river  here  and 
down  the  Ohio  for  drink  and  cookery,  even  in  preference 
to  the  fpring  water  from  the  hills;  for  as  yet  they  have  not 
practifed  the  digging  of  wells.  At  firft  we  were  furprifed 
at  this  preference ;  but  they  affured  us  that  the  river  water 
was  more  wholefome  and  generally  much  more  palatable. 
We  were  foon  convinced  that  this  muft  be  the  cafe:  for, 
though  the  river  water  receives  a  great  deal  of  decayed 
wood,  leaves,  &c.  from  the  creeks  and  runs  that  empty 
into  it,  they  are  foon  depofited  on  the  fhallows,  and  the 
deeper  places  are  very  clear  and  fine.     Even  the  turbid 

39  For  a  sketch  of  Fort  Fayette,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  ante.,  p.  32. —  Ed. 

30  Grant's  Hill  is  so  named  from  the  defeat  (Sept.  11,  1758)  of  a  detachment 
of  Highlanders  under  Major  Grant  by  a  party  of  French  and  Indians  from 
Fort  Duquesne.  Grant,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  Bouquet,  commanding  the 
van  of  Forbes's  army,  to  reconnoitre,  incautiously  approached  too  near  the 
enemies'  stronghold,  was  surrounded,  and  driven  back  with  many  losses. —  Ed. 


346  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

water  of  the  margin  of  the  ftream  becomes  pellucid  by 
ftanding  in  an  open  veffel  over  night,  depofiting  its 
feculencies  at  the  bottom.  But  the  fpring  water,  iffuing 
through  fiffures  in  the  hills,  which  are  only  maffes  of  coal, 
is  fo  impregnated  with  bituminous  and  fulphureous  parti- 
cles as  to  be  frequently  naufeous  to  the  tafte  and  preju- 
dicial to  the  health. 

We  obferved  feveral  people  near  Pittfburg  affected 
with  a  tumour  on  the  throat  [46]  like  a  wen.  Inquiring 
into  the  caufe  of  it,  we  were  informed  that  they  imputed  it 
to  fome  effect  of  the  climate  under  the  brows  of  the  high 
mountains  where  they  refide,  and  added  that  even  dogs 
and  fome  other  animals  were  fubject  to  it.  Indeed  we 
faw  a  couple  of  goats  who  had  this  uncomfortable  appen- 
dage to  their  necks. 

The  Seneca  Indian  Oil  in  fo  much  repute  here  is 
Petroleum;  a  liquid  bitumen,  which  oozes  through  fiffures 
of  the  rocks  and  coal  in  the  mountains,  and  is  found 
floating  on  the  furface  of  the  waters  of  feveral  fprings  in 
this  part  of  the  country,  whence  it  is  fkimmed  off,  and 
kept  for  ufe.  From  a  ftrong  vapour  which  arifes  from  it 
when  firft  collected,  it  appears  to  combine  with  it  ful- 
phureous particles.  It  is  very  inflammable.  In  thefe 
parts  it  is  ufed  as  a  medicine;  and,  probably,  in  external 
applications  with  confiderable  fuccefs.  For  chilblains 
and  rheumatifm  it  is  confidered  as  an  infallible  fpecific. 
I  fuppofe  it  to  be  the  bitumen  which  Pliny  defcribes  under 
the  name  of  Naptha,  Lib.  II.  ch.  105. 

[47]  Tuesday,  April  19 

Crossed  the  ferry  over  the  Monongahela,  oppofite  the 
glafs-houfes,  and  purfued  our  journey. 
The  country  is  very  mountainous  and  broken,  and  the 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  347 

road  extremely  rough  and  difficult.  We  were  told  that 
our's  was  the  firft  private  carriage  that  had  ever  paffed  it, 
having  been  but  lately  opened,  and  ufed  only  by  ftrong 
waggons  and  carts. 

We  dined  at  Cannonsburg,  a  poft-town,  pleafantly 
fituated  on  rifing  ground  near  the  north  fide  of  the  weft 
branch  of  Chartier's  Creek.  It  is  18  miles  S.W.  from 
Pittfburg,  and  9  miles  N.  E.  from  Wafhington.  It  con- 
tains about  100  houfes,  and  has  two  congregations,  and 
meeting-houfes;  a  Prefbyterian  and  a  Seceder.  It  has 
been  fettled  but  twelve  years,  and  already  puts  on  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  long  cultivated  region.  There  is  an  Academy 
here  in  a  very  flourifhing  ftate;  and  the  laft  feffion  of 
the  Affembly  a  charter  was  granted  for  a  College." 

At  Washington,  the  chief  town  of  a  county  of  the 
fame  name  in  Pennfylvania,  fituated  on  another  branch 
of  Chartier's  Creek,  we  f topped  to  lodge. 

[48]  A  Court-house  and  a  large  building  for  public 
offices,  of  brick;  and  a  Gaol  and  an  Academy,  of  ftone, 
with  a  large  number  of  handfomely  built  dwelling-houfes, 
give  this  town  a  very  refpectable  appearance.  It  feems 
to  be  a  place  of  confiderable  bufinefs,  and  of  thriving 
manufactories  and  trade.32 

31  Canonsburg  was  named  for  its  first  settler,  Colonel  John  Canon,  who 
took  up  the  land  under  a  Virginia  warrant  in  1773.  Colonel  Canon  was  a  man 
of  note  in  Western  Pennsylvania  —  justice  of  the  peace,  commander  of  the 
militia,  and  representative  in  the  assembly. 

Jefferson  College,  to  which  Harris  refers,  owes  its  beginnings  to  Colonel 
Canon,  who  in  1791  donated  the  lot  and  advanced  money  for  building  the  first 
structure.  After  long  years  of  rivalry,  Jefferson  College  was  finally  consoli- 
dated (1869)  with  that  of  Washington,  at  the  town  of  that  name,  under  the 
joint  title  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  College.  Canonsburgh  Academy 
occupies  the  former  college  buildings. —  Ed. 

32  The  town  of  Washington,  when  laid  out  in  1 780,  was  entitled  Bassett 
Town.  The  name  was  changed  when  it  was  chosen  as  the  seat  of  Washington 
County. —  Ed. 


348  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

Wednesday,  April  20 

Passed  through  Alexandria,  a  fmall  town  in  Wafh- 
ington  County,  Pennfylvania,  on  the  Virginia  line.  It 
contains  between  fifty  and  fixty  dwelling-houfes,  and  has 
a  large  and  decent  houfe  for  public  worfhip.33  It  is  fix- 
teen  miles  S.  W.  from  Wafhington,  and  the  fame  diftance 
N.  E.  from  Wheeling. 

We  dined  at  Shepherd's  Mills  on  Wheeling  Creek,  hav- 
ing winded  along  a  moft  romantic  valley  between  high 
mountains,  and  repeatedly  croffed  [feventeen  times  in 
about  five  miles]  the  beautiful  ftream  running  through  it.34 

The  proprietor  of  thefe  mills  refides  in  one  of  the  beft 
built  and  handfomeft  ftone  houfes  we  faw  on  this  fide 
of  the  mountains.35 

Quitting  this  fecluded  vale,  we  paffed  over  a  high 
chain  of  mountains,  whence  we  [49]  overlooked  the  town 
of  Wheeling,  and  enjoyed  fine  and  extenfive  views  of  a 
hilly  and  well-wooded  country,  interfected  by  the  river 
Ohio. — We  then  defcended  into  the  town. 

Wheeling  is  a  poft-town,  in  Ohio  County,  Virginia, 
healthily  and  pleafantly  fituated  on  the  Hoping  fides  of  a 
hill  gracefully  rifing  from  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  It  is 
laid  out  principally  on  one  ftreet;  and  moft  of  the  houfes 

33  Alexandria,  or  West  Alexander,  was  laid  out  by  Robert  Humphreys  in 
1796  Humphreys,  who  had  been  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  serving  under 
Lafayette,  took  up  the  land  on  a  Virginia  military  certificate,  and  named  the 
town  in  honor  of  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Martha  Alexander. —  Ed. 

34  Little  Wheeling  Creek. —  Harris. 

35  This  was  the  house  of  Moses  Shepherd,  son  of  Colonel  David  Shepherd » 
one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  pioneer  officers  of  Western  Virginia.  The 
latter  came  West  in  1773,  and  built  a  blockhouse  and  fort  at  the  junction  of 
Big  and  Little  Wheeling  Creeks,  where  the  village  of  Elm  Grove  is  now  situated. 
Colonel  Shepherd  was  county-lieutenant  during  the  Indian  wars,  assisted  at 
both  sieges  of  Wheeling,  joined  Brodhead's  expedition,  and  was  of  great  use 
in  protecting  the  frontier.  The  house  mentioned  by  Harris  is  said  to  be  still 
standing. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  349 

are  handfome,  feveral  being  built  with  brick,  and  fome 
with  faced  ftone.36 

It  is  twelve  miles  S.  W.  of  Weft  Liberty,  and  fifty-four 
miles  from  Pittfburg;  three  hundred  and  thirty-two  miles 
from  Philadelphia,  and  twelve  miles  above  Grave  Creek. 

It  is  increafing  very  rapidly  in  population  and  in  pros- 
perous trade;  and  is,  next  to  Pittfburg,  the  moft  confider- 
able  place  of  embarkation  to  traders  and  emigrants,  any 
where  on  the  weftern  waters.  During  the  dry  feafon 
great  quantities  of  merchandize  are  brought  hither,  de- 
figned  to  fupply  the  inhabitants  on  the  Ohio  river  and  the 
waters  that  flow  into  it;  as  boats  can  go  from  [50]  hence, 
when  they  cannot  from  places  higher  up  the  river. 

Boat-building  is  carried  on  at  this  place  to  a  great 
extent;  and  feveral  large  keel  boats  and  fome  veffels  have 
been  built. 

Opposite  the  town  is  a  moft  beautiful  ifland  in  the 
river,  containing  about  four  hundred  acres.  Interfperfed 
with  buildings,  highly  cultivated  fields,  fome  fine  or- 
chards, and  copfes  of  wood,  it  appears  to  great  advan- 
tage from  the  town,  and  forms  a  very  interefting  part  of 
the  profpect.  After  the  eyes  have  been  f trained  in  viewing 
the  vaft  amphitheatre  of  country  all  around,  or  dazzled 
with  tracing  the  windings  of  the  river,  they  are  agreeably 
refted  and  refrefhed  by  the  verdure  and  beauty  of  Wheel- 
ing Ifland. 

At  Wheeling  we  left  our  carriage,  and  took  paffage 
down  the  river  in  a  keel  boat. 

Just  below  the  town  ftands  an  old  Fort,  at  the  point  of 

38  For  the  early  history  of  Wheeling,  see  Michaux's  Travels,  ante,  p.  $$, 
note  15.  There  were  two  routes  from  Pittsburg  to  Wheeling;  one  more  direct, 
but  rougher,  passing  through  West  Liberty,  was  taken  by  the  younger  Michaux 
(q.  v.)  the  year  prevous;  the  stage  route,  by  way  of  Canonsburg,  Washington, 
and  Alexandria  was  that  chosen  by  Harris. —  Ed. 


3 50  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

land  formed  by  the  junction  of  Big  Wheeling  Creek  and 
the  Ohio  river. 

The  paffage  down  the  river  was  extremely  entertaining, 
exhibiting  at  every  bend  a  change  of  fcenery.  Sometimes 
we  were  in  the  vicinity  of  dark  forefts,  which  threw  a 
folemn  f hade  over  us  as  we  glided  by ;  f ometimes  we  paffed 
along  overhanging  [51]  banks,  decorated  with  blooming 
fhrubs  which  timidly  bent  their  light  boughs  to  fweep  the 
paffing  ftream;  and  fometimes  around  the  fhore  of  an 
ifland  which  tinged  the  water  with  a  reflected  landfcape. 
The  lively  carols  of  the  birds,  which  "fung  among  the 
branches,"  entertained  us  exceedingly,  and  gave  life  and 
pleafure  to  the  woodland  fcene.  The  flocks  of  wild  geefe 
and  ducks  which  fwam  upon  the  ftream,  the  vaft  number 
of  turkies,  partridges,  and  quails  we  faw  upon  the  fhore, 
and  the  herds  of  deer  or  fome  other  animals  of  the  foreft 
darting  through  the  thickets,  afforded  us  conftant  amufe- 
ment. 

From  Fifh  Creek,  on  the  Virginia  fhore,37  the  country  is 
flat  on  the  banks  of  the  river;  and,  on  the  oppofite  fide, 
generally  broken  and  rough,  without  much  bottom-land; 
the  mountains  and  hills  moftly  rifing  contiguous  to  the 
edge  of  the  river.  But,  below  the  iflands  called  "The 
Three  Brothers,' '  the  bottom-lands  on  the  N.  W.  fide  are 
extenfive  and  rich. 

Here   fine   cultivated   plains   and   rifing   fettlements 

37  Fish  Creek  was  on  the  "Warrior  Branch,"  a  great  Indian  highway  lead- 
ing from  the  Ohio  into  Tennessee.  The  locality  is  interesting  for  its  connec- 
tion with  the  early  life  of  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  explored  the  neighbor- 
hood as  early  as  1772,  and  passed  the  succeeding  winter  in  a  log  cabin  about 
a  mile  above  Fish  Creek.  Clark  was  a  leader  among  the  young  men  on  the 
frontier,  and  held  a  school  for  them  at  the  cabin  of  his  friend  Yates  Conwell, 
built  directly  at  the  mouth  of  Fish  Creek.  The  two  years  passed  here  were 
valuable  in  the  experience  thus  gained  of  frontier  life,  which  made  his  later 
career  so  marked  a  success. —  Ed. 


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1803]  Harris's  'Journal  353 

charm  the  eye  amidft  the  boundlefs  profpect  of  defolate 
wilds.  When  we  fee  the  land  cleared  of  thofe  enormous 
trees  [52]  with  which  it  was  overgrown,  and  the  cliffs 
and  quarries  converted  into  materials  for  building,  we 
cannot  help  dwelling  upon  the  induftry  and  art  of  man, 
which  by  dint  of  toil  and  perfeverance  can  change  the 
defert  into  a  fruitful  field,  and  fhape  the  rough  rock  to 
ufe  and  elegance.  When  the  folitary  wafte  is  peopled, 
and  convenient  habitations  arife  amidft  the  former  re- 
treats of  wild  beafts;  when  the  filence  of  nature  is  fuc- 
ceeded  by  the  buzz  of  employment,  the  congratulations  of 
fociety,  and  the  voice  of  joy;  in  fine,  when  we  behold  com- 
petence and  plenty  fpringing  from  the  bofom  of  dreary 
forefts, —  what  a  leffon  is  afforded  of  the  benevolent  in- 
tentions of  Providence ! 

Having  been  part  of  three  days  upon  the  river,  we  ar- 
rived at  Marietta,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  on  Saturday 
morning,  April  23d. 

The  fecond  week  after  our  arrival,  in  confequence  of 
three  or  four  rainy  days,  the  water  in  the  Ohio  rofe  fifteen 
feet,  and  gave  opportunity  for  feveral  veffels,  which  were 
waiting  for  a  flood,  to  fet  fail.  Accordingly  on  May  4th 
the  fchooner  "Dorcas  and  Sally,' '  of  70  tons,  built  at 
Wheeling  and  rigged  at  Marietta,  dropped  down  the 
[53]  river.  The  following  day  there  paffed  down  the 
fchooner  "Amity,"  of  103  tons,  from  Pittfburg,  and  the 
fhip  "Pittfburg,"  of  275  tons  burden,  from  the  fame 
place,  laden  with  feventeen  hundred  barrels  of  flour,  with 
the  reft  of  her  cargo  in  flat-bottomed  boats.  In  the  eve- 
ning the  brig ' '  Mary  Avery,' '  of  130  tons,  built  at  Marietta, 
fet  fail.38 

38  Michaux  says  (ante,  p.  177)  that  the  inhabitants  of  Marietta  were  the 
first  to  conduct  an  exchange  with  the  West  Indies  by  means  of  vessels  built  at 
their  own  docks. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  353 

charm  the  eye  amidft  the  boundlefs  profpect  of  defolate 
wilds.  When  we  fee  the  land  cleared  of  thofe  enormous 
trees  [52]  with  which  it  was  overgrown,  and  the  cliffs 
and  quarries  converted  into  materials  for  building,  we 
cannot  help  dwelling  upon  the  induftry  and  art  of  man, 
which  by  dint  of  toil  and  perfeverance  can  change  the 
defert  into  a  fruitful  field,  and  fhape  the  rough  rock  to 
ufe  and  elegance.  When  the  folitary  wafte  is  peopled, 
and  convenient  habitations  arife  amidft  the  former  re- 
treats of  wild  beafts;  when  the  filence  of  nature  is  fuc- 
ceeded  by  the  buzz  of  employment,  the  congratulations  of 
fociety,  and  the  voice  of  joy;  in  fine,  when  we  behold  com- 
petence and  plenty  fpringing  from  the  bofom  of  dreary 
forefts, —  what  a  leffon  is  afforded  of  the  benevolent  in- 
tentions of  Providence ! 

Having  been  part  of  three  days  upon  the  river,  we  ar- 
rived at  Marietta,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  on  Saturday 
morning,  April  23d. 

The  fecond  week  after  our  arrival,  in  confequence  of 
three  or  four  rainy  days,  the  water  in  the  Ohio  rofe  fifteen 
feet,  and  gave  opportunity  for  feveral  veffels,  which  were 
waiting  for  a  flood,  to  fet  fail.  Accordingly  on  May  4th 
the  fchooner  "Dorcas  and  Sally,"  of  70  tons,  built  at 
Wheeling  and  rigged  at  Marietta,  dropped  down  the 
[53]  river.  The  following  day  there  paffed  down  the 
fchooner  "Amity,"  of  103  tons,  from  Pittfburg,  and  the 
fhip  "Pittfburg,"  of  275  tons  burden,  from  the  fame 
place,  laden  with  feventeen  hundred  barrels  of  flour,  with 
the  reft  of  her  cargo  in  flat-bottomed  boats.  In  the  eve- 
ning the  brig ' '  Mary  Avery,' '  of  130  tons,  built  at  Marietta, 
fet  fail.38 

38  Michaux  says  {ante,  p.  177)  that  the  inhabitants  of  Marietta  were  the 
first  to  conduct  an  exchange  with  the  West  Indies  by  means  of  vessels  built  at 
their  own  docks. —  Ed. 


354  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

These  afforded  an  interefting  fpectacle  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  place,  who  faluted  the  veffels  as  they  paffed 
with  three  cheers,  and  by  firing  a  fmall  piece  of  ordnance 
from  the  banks. 

While  at  this  place  I  collected  feveral  particulars  re- 
fpecting  the  Hiftory  and  Geography  of  the  State  of  Ohio, 
from  General  Putnam,  Judge  Gilman,  Judge  Wood- 
bridge,  and  others,  who  obligingly  anfwered  my  many 
inquiries.39  The  information  thus  obtained,  together 
with  that  which  refulted  from  various  vifits  to  neighbour- 
ing towns  and  excurfions  into  the  interior  country,  I  have 
arranged  by  itfelf . 

39  Judge  Joseph  Gilman  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  where  he  had 
served  as  chairman  of  the  committee  of  safety  during  the  troubled  times  of  the 
Revolution.  He  was  one  of  the  Ohio  associates  and  removed  to  Marietta  in 
1789.  Governor  St.  Clair  appointed  him  probate  judge,  judge  of  the  court  of 
common  pleas,  etc.,  until  (1796)  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the 
territory,  an  office  which  he  filled  acceptably  until  the  organization  of  the  state 
of  Ohio  (1803),  when  he  again  became  a  local  justice.  Judge  Gilman  died  at 
Marietta  in  1806  at  the  age  of  seventy. 

His  collaborator,  Judge  Dudley  Woodbridge,  was  a  Connecticut  man, 
graduate  of  Yale  College,  and  educated  for  the  bar.  The  Revolution  inter- 
rupted his  legal  studies,  which  he  later  resumed,  and  after  removal  to  Ohio  he 
was  one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  new  state.  His  son,  William,  became  promi- 
nent in  politics,  and  was  governor  of  Michigan. —  Ed. 


PART    II 

Returning 

"What  an  excellent  remedy,  or,  at  leaft,  what  a  palliative,  for  the  fufferings 
of  the  head  and  heart,  is  travelling.  Alternate  wearinefs  and  reft  leave  no 
room  for  any  train  of  ideas,  and  every  thing  confpires  to  render  us  as  happy  as 
if  our  fufferings  were  ended." 

Duke  de  la  Rochefaucalt  Liancottct's  Travels. 

Vol.  I.  p.  173. 


JOURNAL 

Marietta 

I  soon  found  that  the  genial  influences  of  a  mild  and 
falubrious  climate,  aided  by  habitual  exercife,  daily  im- 
proved my  bodily  ftrength;  while  my  mind,  relieved  of 
its  cares,  was  conftantly  occupied  and  amufed  with  the 
new  and  interefting  fcenery  and  the  wonderful  antiquities 
in  this  neighbourhood;  and  my  fpirits  were  foothed  and 
cheered  by  the  kind  attentions  of  hofpitality  and  friend- 
fhip. 

Thus  led  to  indulge  fome  encouraging  profpects  of 
reftoration  to  health,  my  thoughts  turned  towards  my  dif- 
tant  home,  which  I  had  never  expected  to  revifit.  Taking 
an  affectionate  leave  of  my  brother,  who  inclined  to  fettle 
in  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  of  my  much  efteemed  friends 
at  Marietta,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Adams,  I  fet  out  home- 
wards on  Monday  morning,  June  6th. 

[58]  I  quitted  with  regret  a  place  where  I  had  paffed 
a  few  weeks  fo  pleafantly.  I  fhall  ever  retain  a  grateful 
fenfe  of  the  hofpitality  with  which  I  was  received,  and  of 
the  refpect  and  attention  with  which  I  was  honored  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Marietta  and  Belle  pre. 

As  we  preferred  traverfing  the  woods  to  afcending  the 
river  in  a  boat,  we  returned  to  Wheeling  on  horfeback. 

The  induftrious  habits  and  neat  improvements  of  the 
people  on  the  weft  fide  of  the  river,  are  ftrikingly  con- 
trafted  with  thofe  on  the  eaft.  Here,  in  Ohio,  they  are 
intelligent,  induftrious,  and  thriving;  there,  on  the  back 
fkirts  of  Virginia,  ignorant,  lazy,  and  poor.    Here  the 


358  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

buildings  are  neat,  though  fmall,  and  furnifhed  in  many 
inftances  with  brick  chimnies  and  glafs  windows;  there 
the  habitations  are  miferable  cabins.  Here  the  grounds 
are  laid  out  in  a  regular  manner,  and  inclofed  by  ftrong 
pofts  and  rails;  there  the  fields  are  furrounded  by  a  rough 
zigzag  log  fence.  Here  are  thrifty  young  apple  orchards; 
there  the  only  fruit  that  is  raifed  is  the  peach,  from  which 
a  good  brandy  is  dijtilled ! 

[59]  I  had  often  heard  a  degrading  character  of  the 
Back  settlers;  and  had  now  an  opportunity  of  feeing 
it  exhibited.  The  abundance  of  wild  game  allures  them 
to  be  huntfmen.  They  not  only  find  fport  in  this  purfuit, 
but  fupply  of  provifions,  together  with  confiderable  profit 
from  the  peltry.  They  neglect,  of  courfe,  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  land.  They  acquire  rough  and  favage  man- 
ners. Sloth  and  independence  are  prominent  traits  in 
their  character;  to  indulge  the  former  is  their  principal  en- 
joyment, and  to  protect  the  latter  their  chief  ambition. 

Another  caufe  of  the  difference  may  be  that,  in  the 
back  counties  of  Virginia,  every  planter  depends  upon  his 
negroes  for  the  cultivation  of  his  lands;  but  in  the  State 
of  Ohio,  where  jlavery  is  not  allowed,  every  farmer  tills 
his  ground  himself.  To  all  this  may  be  added,  that 
moft  of  the  "Back-wood's  men,"  as  they  are  called,  are 
emigrants  from  foreign  countries,  but  the  State  of  Ohio 
was  fettled  by  people  from  New-England,  the  region 
of  Industry,  Economy,  and  steady  habits. 

[60]  The  wildernefs  through  which  we  rode  often  pre- 
fented  moft  delightful  profpects,  particularly  as  we  ap- 
proached the  bank  of  the  river,  which  opened  and  enlarged 
the  view. 

We  frequently  remarked  that  the  banks  are  higher  at 
the  margin,  than  at  a  little  diftance  back.     I  account  for 


1803]  Harris's  Journal  359 

it  in  this  manner.  Large  trees,  which  are  brought  down 
the  river  by  the  inundations,  are  lodged  upon  the  borders 
of  the  bank;  but  cannot  be  floated  far  upon  the  champaign, 
becaufe  obftructed  by  the  growth  of  wood.  Retaining 
their  fituation  when  the  waters  fubfide,  they  obftruct  and 
detain  the  leaves  and  mud,  which  would  elfe  recoil  into 
the  ftream,  and  thus,  in  procefs  of  time,  form  a  bank 
higher  than  the  interior  flats. 

Tuesday,  June  7 

There  is  fomething  which  impreffes  the  mind  with  awe 
in  the  fhade  and  filence  of  thefe  vaft  forefts.  In  deep 
folitude,  alone  with  nature,  we  converfe  with  God. 

Our  courfe  through  the  woods  was  directed  by  marked 
trees.    As  yet  there  is  no  road  cut. 

There  is  but  little  underwood;  but  on  the  fides  of  the 
creeks,  and  near  the  river,  [61]  the  papaw  (Annona 
glabra,)  the  fpice  bufh,  or  wild  pimento  (Laurus  benzoin,) 
and  the  dogberry  (cornus  Florida,)  grow  in  the  greateft 
abundance. 

We  often  stopped  to  admire  the  grapevines  in  thefe 
forefts,  which  twine  among  and  fpread  a  canopy  over  the 
fummits  of  the  higheft  trees.  Some  are  nine  inches  in 
diameter.  They  ftretch  from  the  root,  which  is  often 
thirty  and  forty  feet  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  and  afcend 
in  a  ftraight  line  to  the  firft  high  limb,  thirty  and  even 
fixty  feet  from  the  ground.  How  they  have  reached  fuch 
an  height,  without  the  help  of  intermediate  branches,  is 
unaccountable. 

On  the  upper  beach  of  one  of  the  iflands  we  faw  a  large 
flock  of  Turkey  Buzzards,  attracted  there  by  a  dead  car- 
cafs  that  had  floated  down  the  river,  and  lodged  upon  the 
bar.     Thefe  birds  did  not  fly  upon  our  approach. 


360  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

We  reached  Tomlinson,  a  fmall  fettlement  near  Grave 
Creek,  to  lodge.40  We  propofe  {pending  tomorrow  here 
in  viewing  the  furprizing  forts  and  the  "Big  Mound,"  in 
this  vicinity. 

[62]  Wednesday,  June  8 

' '  Behind  me  rises  huge  a  reverend  pile 
Sole  on  this  defert  heath,  a  place  of  tombs, 
Wafte,  defolate;  where  Ruin  dreary  dwells, 
Brooding  o'er  fightlefs  fkulls  and  crumbling  bones.' ' 

We  went  out  this  morning  to  examine  the  antient  monu- 
ments about  Grave  Creek.  The  town  of  Tomlinfon  is 
partly  built  upon  one  of  the  fquare  forts.  Several  mounds 
are  to  be  feen.  I  think  there  are  nine  within  a  mile. 
Three  of  them,  which  ftand  adjoining  each  other,  are  of 
fuperior  height  and  magnitude  to  thofe  which  are  moft 
commonly  to  be  met  with.  In  digging  away  the  fide  of 
one  of  thefe,  in  order  to  build  a  ftable,  many  curious  ftone 
implements  were  found;  one  refembled  a  fyringe;  there 
were,  alfo,  a  peftle,  fome  copper  beads  of  an  oval  fhape, 
and  feveral  other  articles.  One  of  the  mounds  in  Col. 
Bygg's  garden  was  excavated  in  order  to  make  an  ice- 
houfe.41    It  contained  a  vaft  number  of  human  bones,  a 

40  Joseph  Tomlinson  was  the  son  of  a  Scotch-Irish  emigrant  who  had  settled 
in  Maryland,  where  the  former  was  born  in  1745.  He  explored  this  region  as 
early  as  1770,  but  made  a  permanent  location  in  1772.  The  first  town  that 
Tomlinson  attempted  to  establish  (1795),  he  named  Elizabethtown  for  bis 
wife.  It  was  later  merged  in  Moundsville,  West  Virginia,  of  which  Tomlinson 
was  also  proprietor  and  founder. —  Ed. 

a  The  Biggs  family  was  an  important  one  in  the  pioneer  annals  of  Western 
Virginia.  The  father  migrated  from  Maryland,  and  about  1770  settled  on 
Short  Creek  above  Wheeling.  There  were  six  sons  noted  as  Indian  fighters 
of  whom  General  Benjamin  Biggs  was  best  known,  having  served  in  Lord 
Dunmore's  War  and  that  of  the  Revolution,  and  acting  as  brigadier-general  of 
Ohio  County  militia  during  the  later  Indian  wars.  His  papers  form  part  of  the 
Draper  Manuscripts  Collection,  belonging  to  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society. 
Probably  the  Colonel  Biggs  mentioned  by  Harris  was  Joseph,  he  having  bought 
one  of  the  first  lots  in  Elizabeth  (now  Moundsville). 


1803]  Harris's  'Journal  361 

variety  of  ftone  tools,  and  a  kind  of  ftone  fignet  of  an  oval 
fhape,  two  inches  in  length,  with  a  figure  in  relievo  refem- 
bling  a  note  of  admiration,  furrounded  by  two  raifed  rims. 
Capt.  Wilfon,  who  prefented  the  ftone  to  my  companion 
Mr.  Adams,  obferved  that  it  was  exactly  the  figure  of 
[63]  the  brand  with  which  the  Mexican  horfes  were 
marked.42  One  of  the  mounds  was  furrounded  by  a 
regular  ditch  and  parapet,  with  only  one  entrance.  The 
tumulus  was  about  twelve  feet  high,  and  the  parapet  five. 

The  "Big  grave"  as  it  is  called,  is  a  moft  aftonifhing 
mound.  We  meafured  the  perpendicular  height,  and  it 
was  fixty-feven  feet  and  a  half.  By  the  meafurement  of 
George  Millar,  Efq.43  of  Wheeling,  it  is  fixty-eight  feet. 
Its  fides  are  quite  fteep.  The  diameter  of  the  top  is  fifty- 
five  feet:  but  the  apex  feems  to  have  caved  in;  for  the 
prefent  fummit  forms  a  bafon,  three  or  four  feet  in  depth. 
Not  having  a  furveyor's  chain,  we  could  not  take  the  cir- 
cumference, but  judged  that  its  bafe  covered  more  than 
half  an  acre.  It  is  overgrown  with  large  trees  on  all  fides. 
Near  the  top  is  a  white  oak  of  three  feet  diameter;  one 
ftill  larger  grows  on  the  eaftern  side  about  half  way 
down.  The  mound  founds  hollow.  Undoubtedly  its 
contents  will  be  numerous,  curious,  and  calculated  to 
develop  in  a  farther  degree  the  hiftory  of  the  antiquities 
which  abound  in  this  part  of  our  country. 

[64]  As  there  are  no  excavations  near  the  mound,  and 
no  hills  or  banks  of  earth,  we  infer  that  it  muft  have  been 

Joseph  Biggs  took  part  as  a  boy  in  the  siege  of  Fort  Henry,  at  Wheeling; 
defended  a  besieged  blockhouse  in  Ohio,  opposite  Wheeling,  in  1791;  and  finally 
died  in  Ohio  about  1833.  He  claimed  to  have  been  in  seventeen  Indian  fights 
in  and  about  the  neighborhood  of  Wheeling. —  Ed. 

42  This  fingular  marking-ftone  is  now  depofited  in  Mr.  Turell's  Cabinet 
of  Curiofities  in  Bofton. —  Harris. 

43  George  Millar  had  one  of  the  first  potteries  of  this  region  at  Wheeling, 
and  served  as  mayor  of  the  town  (1806-7). —  Ed. 


362  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

principally  formed  of  fods  fkimmed  from  the  furface,  or  of 
earth  brought  from  a  great  diftance.  The  labour  of  col- 
lecting fuch  a  prodigious  quantity  muft  have  been  incon- 
ceivably great.  And  when  we  confider  the  multitude  of 
workmen,  the  length  of  time,  and  the  expenfe,  requifite  to 
form  fuch  a  ftupendous  mound ;  when  we  reflect  upon  the 
fpirit  of  ambition  which  fuggefted  the  idea  of  this  monu- 
ment, of  great  but  fimple  magnificence,  to  the  memory  of 
fome  renowned  prince  or  warrior,  we  cannot  but  regret 
that  the  name  and  the  glory  it  was  defigned  to  perpetuate 
are  gone  —  lost  in  the  darkness  of  the  grave  !44 

Thursday,  June  9 

The  route  from  Tomlinfon  to  Wheeling  was  very 
romantic.  Sometimes  we  paffed  through  fhaded  vales 
of  towering  trees,  and  fometimes  on  a  winding  road  along 
the  f teep  fides  of  a  precipice,  at  the  bottom  of  which  flowed 
the  beautiful  Ohio.  The  paffage  is  circuitous  and  narrow, 
and  guarded  from  the  fteep  defcent  to  the  river  by  a 
flight  parapet  of  logs  or  f tones.  If  [65]  you  look  below, 
you  fear  that  the  ftumbling  horfe  will  precipitate  you 
among  crags  and  trees  to  the  river's  edge;  while  from 
above,  loofened  rocks  feem  to  threaten  to  crufh  you  by  a 
fall. 

On  thefe  declivities  grow  the  mountain  rafpberry 
(Rnbus  montanus  floridus,)  in  great  plenty.  It  is  a  hand- 
fome  buf h ;  and  the  flower,  which  is  of  a  pale  pink  colour, 
and  of  the  fize  and  appearance  of  that  of  the  fweet-briar, 
or  hedge  rofe,  gives  it  a  very  ornamental  appearance. 
We  were  told  that  the  fruit  is  large,  and  exceedingly  de- 
licious. 

44  For  recent  study  of  Indian  mounds,  consult  Smithsonian  Institution 
Report,  1891  (Washington,  1893);  also  American  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  Twelfth 
Annual  Report  (Washington,  1894). —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  Journal  363 

Friday,  June  10 

Leave  Wheeling,  and  proceed  homewards  in  our  car- 
riage. Lodge  at  Donegala,  in  Wafhington  County, 
Pennfylvania.45 

Saturday,  June  1 1 

Pass  through  Wafhington  and  arrived  at  Browns- 
ville to  fpend  the  Sabbath.  The  remarks  I  made  upon 
the  fituation  of  this  place  have  been  transferred  to  the 
preceding  account  of  the  fettlements  on  the  Monongahela 
river. 

[66]  Monday,  June  13 

Dined,  and  fpent  the  afternoon  at  Uniontown,  in 
company  with  the  worthy  Judge  Addison,  Judge  Rob- 
erts, and  the  Judges,  lawyers,  and  gentlemen  of  the  cir- 
cuit Court  of  Fayette  County.46 

Uniontown  is  the  fhire  town  of  the  County.  It  is  a 
very  pleafant  and  thriving  place,  fituated  near  Redftone 
Creek,  and  principally  built  upon  one  ftraight  ftreet,  the 
fide  walks  of  which  are  neatly  paved  with  large  flat  ftones. 
It  contains  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  houfes,  many 

45  Harris  returned  from  Wheeling  by  a  road  which  followed  the  route  later 
taken  by  the  National  or  Cumberland  Road  from  Wheeling  to  Uniontown,  in 
Fayette  County.  See  Searight,  The  Old  Pike:  A  History  of  the  National  Road 
(Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  1894)  for  the  building  and  continuation  of  this 
road,  as  well  as  the  Congressional  debates  thereon. 

The  town  of  Donegala  has  vanished  from  the  map;  it  was  probably  at  or 
near  the  present  Claysville,  in  Donegal  Township,  Washington  County. —  Ed. 

48  Judge  Alexander  Addison  was  a  Scotchman  who  first  entered  the  ministry; 
afterwards  studying  for  the  bar,  he  became  the  first  law  judge  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania. His  opposition  to  the  Whiskey  Rebellion,  and  prosecution  of  its 
leaders,  and  his  strong  Federalist  attitude,  made  him  many  enemies  among  the 
Western  settlers,  at  whose  instance  he  was  impeached  and  removed  from  the 
bench  in  1802.  Addison  was  succeeded  by  Judge  Samuel  Roberts,  who  had 
been  born  and  educated  in  Philadelphia.  Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1793,  he  was 
a  successful  lawyer  when  placed  upon  the  bench  (1803),  where  he  remained 
until  his  death  in  1820  —  Ed. 


364  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

of  them  well  built,  and  fome  quite  handfome.  The  public 
buildings  are  a  meeting-houfe,  and  a  ftone  Gaol.  There 
is  a  printing-office  in  the  town  which  iffues  a  weekly  news- 
paper. Several  manufactures  are  carried  on  in  the  place, 
and  much  bufinefs  done  in  the  mercantile  line  to  very 
great  advantage.  Though  the  town  has  been  fettled  but 
fifteen  years,  it  is,  next  to  Pittfburg  and  Wheeling,  the 
moft  flourifhing  town  through  which  we  paffed  on  the 
weftern  fide  of  the  mountains.  Near  it  are  fome  valuable 
merchant-mills;  and  in  the  county  are  eighteen  furnaces 
and  iron  works,  and  feveral  diftilleries.47 

[67]  Towards  evening  we  purfued  our  journey  as  far 
as  Connelsville,  where  we  flept.  This  town  has  been 
fettled  eight  years.  It  is  pleafantly  fituated  on  the 
Yohiogany;  and  contains  about  eighty  houfes,  and  four 
hundred  inhabitants.48 

Tuesday,  June  14 
Through  woody  and  rugged  ways  we  paffed  the  Ches- 
nut  Ridge,  and  Laurel  Hill,  and  reached  Somerset  to 
lodge:  a  diftance  of  thirty-three  miles.  This  is  a  pretty 
place,  the  fhire  town  of  the  County  of  the  fame  name. 
It  has  been  fettled  eight  years;  contains  about  fifty  houfes, 
feveral  of  them  well  built;  fome  merchants'  f tores,  fhops 
of  artifts,  a  meeting-houfe,  and  a  handfome  Court-houfe 
and  Gaol  built  with  ftone. 

47  The  site  of  Uniontown  was  first  occupied  in  1767  by  two  Scotch-Irishmen, 
who  were  bought  out  by  Henry  Beeson,  whose  blacksmith  forge  and  mill  early 
attracted  settlers.  A  blockhouse  was  built  here  in  1774,  and  two  years  later  a 
town  was  laid  out,  known  as  Beesontown.  This  did  not  flourish  until  after  the 
Revolution,  when  the  present  name  of  Uniontown  gradually  came  into  use. 
The  place  was  incorporated  in  1796,  and  made  the  seat  of  Fayette  County. — Ed. 

48  Connellsville,  at  the  head  of  navigation  of  the  Youghiogheny,  was  set- 
tled by  sons-in-law  of  Colonel  William  Crawford,  for  one  of  whom  the  town 
was  named,  when  laid  out  in  1793.  It  prospered  because  of  its  mills  and 
navigation  interests,  and  in  1806  was  incorporated  as  a  borough. —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  Journal  365 

Finding  the  afternoon  too  far  fpent  to  admit  of  another 
ftage,  we  concluded  to  pafs  the  night  here.  After  a  re- 
paft  at  the  inn,  we  walked  out  to  view  the  place,  and  in- 
hale the  cool  breezes  of  declining  day.  The  fun  was 
juft  finking  below  the  weftern  mountains,  and  fringed 
their  tops  with  a  rich  variety  of  fiery  hues,  which  died 
away  into  the  moft  delicate  tints  of  purple.  We  ftood 
contemplating  this  fcene  of  admirable  [68]  beauty,  till  the 
grey  fhades  of  evening  fhut  it  out  from  the  view. 

Wednesday,  June  15 

Beginning  now  to  afcend  the  fteep  fides  of  the  Alle- 
ghany, the  road  is  rough  and  tirefome,  and  the  profpect 
affumes  a  wilder  and  more  romantic  appearance  at  every 
ftep  we  advance. 

We  croffed  a  confiderable  ftream  which  dafhes  over 
the  rocks  from  the  declivity  of  the  mountain,  and  makes 
the  fouth  fork  of  Buffalo-lick  Creek;  one  of  the  principal 
branches  of  the  Yohiogany  river.  It  iffues  from  a  fpring 
near  the  top  of  the  mountain.  The  indiftinct  echoes  of 
the  diftant  waterfall,  and  the  plaintive  murmurs  of  the 
breeze  breaking  in  upon  the  ftillnefs  of  the  defert  region, 
conftitute  an  accompaniment  correfponding  with  the 
folemnity  and  grandeur  of  the  whole  fcene. 

We  dined  at  Seybour's  on  the  top  of  the  mountain. 
We  then  vifited  the  beautiful  fpring,  near  the  houfe,  on 
the  eafterly  brow  of  the  mountain,  which  is  the  fource  of 
Caicutuck,  or  Will's  Creek,  whofe  waters  enter  the  Poto- 
mack  at  Fort  Cumberland,  an  outer  poft  built  by  General 
Braddock  in  1755.49 

49  Fort  Cumberland  was  built  the  winter  before  Braddock's  campaign,  by 
the  independent  companies  sent  out  from  New  York  and  North  Carolina  to 
support  Washington  in  his  advance  toward  the  forks  of  the  Ohio.  The  first 
title  was  Fort  Mount  Pleasant,  soon  changed  in  honor  of  the  commander  of  the 


366  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

[69]  Next  we  walked  up  to  the  higher  ground,  to  en- 
joy the  profpect  afforded  by  this  ftupendous  elevation. 

From  this  fummit  a  fweep  of  hundreds  of  miles  is  vifi- 
ble,  except  where  remote  intervening  mountains  break 
the  line  of  the  horizon,  which  in  other  parts  is  loft  in  the 
interminable  azure  wherewith  the  heaven  and  the  earth 
are  blended.  Ideas  of  immenfity  f welled  and  exalted  our 
minds  as  we  contemplated  a  profpect  partaking  fo  much 
of  infinitude;  and  we  felt  fome  wonderful  relations  to  an 
univerfe  without  boundary  or  end. 

Descending  the  mountain,  we  reached  Metzker's,  an 
obfcure  inn,  to  lodge. 

Thursday,  June  16 

We  rofe  early  in  the  morning  and  purfued  our  journey. 
For  feveral  miles  we  had  an  excellent  road  on  the  top  of 
Dry  Ridge.  The  fky  was  clear.  The  ftars  fhone 
brightly.  All  was  folemn  and  ftill,  as  if  "nature  felt  a 
paufe."  For  fome  time  we  but  dimly  difcerned  our  way; 
but,  as  the  twilight  became  brighter,  the  profpect  opened 
before  us.  The  increafing  light  of  dawning  day  extended 
the  ftretch  of  picturefque  fcenery.  The  horizon  affumed 
a  [70]  hue  of  tawny  red,  which  gradually  heightened  into 
ruddy  tints,  and  formed  a  glowing  tiara  to  encircle  the 
fplendors  of  the  rifing  fun.  The  orb  of  day  rofe  with 
uncommon  grandeur  among  clouds  of  purple,  red,  and 
gold,  which  mingling  with  the  ferene  azure  of  the  upper 
fky,  compofed  a  richnefs  and  harmony  of  colouring  which 
we  never  faw  furpaffed.  The  vapours  of  the  night  refted 
in  the  vallies  below,  and  feemed  to  the  view  one  vaft 


British  army.  The  fort  was  garrisoned  until  the  close  of  the  French  wars  in 
1765,  and  never  again  re-occupied  save  for  a  few  days  during  the  Whiskey 
Rebellion  (1794).  For  a  detailed  history  of  this  place,  see  Lowdermilk,  His- 
tory of  Cumberland  (Washington,  1878). —  Ed. 


1803]  Harris's  your  rial  367 

ocean,  through  which  the  projecting  peaks  and  fummits 
of  mountains  looked  like  clufters  of  iflands.  The  whole 
fcene  was  novel  and  interesting  in  the  higheft  degree. 
But  we  foon  had  to  defcend,  and  were  immerfed  in  fog 
and  vapour,  and  fhut  out  from  the  pleafant  light  of  the 
fun  for  nearly  half  the  day.  The  next  mountain,  how- 
ever, raifed  us  above  thefe  low  clouds,  and  prefented  us 
with  a  view  of  the  clear  and  unveiled  fky. 

Making  a  journey  of  twenty-eight  miles  this  day,  we 
arrived  at  Martin's,  by  the  croffings  of  the  Juniata,  and 
put  up  for  the  night. 

Friday,  June  1 7 

Passing  the  Sideling  Hills,  we  reach  McConnel's 
town,  a  delightful,  [71]  well-watered  village  in  Bedford 
County,  Pennfylvania,  to  dine.  It  is  fituated  in  the 
valley,  or,  as  it  is  called  "the  Cove,"  between  Sideling 
and  North  Mountain.  It  has  been  built  eight  years; 
contains  about  eighty  houfes,  feveral  of  them  handfomely 
built  with  brick  or  ftone,  a  number  of  ftores  and  fhops, 
and  a  fmall  Dutch  meeting-houfe. 

Quitting  this  fequeftered  place,  we  afcended  the 
North  Mountain,  and  enjoyed  from  its  top  a  variegated 
and  magnificent  profpect.  Deep  below  we  faw  the  town 
and  beautiful  vale  we  had  paffed,  with  the  meandering 
ftream  which  runs  through  it.  Scattered  houfes,  and  rich 
cultivated  farms,  formed  an  interefting  contraft  with 
the  rugged  mountains  with  which  they  were  environed. 
On  the  north  and  weft  the  profpect  is  circumfcribed  by 
ranges  of  mountains;  but  on  the  eaft  and  fouth  a  prodi- 
gious expanfe  of  country  is  laid  open  to  the  eye,  and  the 
fenfes  are  almoft  bewildered  in  contemplating  the  vaft- 
nefs  of  the  fcene. 


368  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  3 

To  wander  through  the  fhady  grove,  to  contemplate 
the  verdant  pafture  and  the  field  of  ripening  grain,  or  to 
admire  the  [72]  flowery  beauties  of  the  garden,  may 
afford  a  pleafant  recreation;  but  the  majeftic  features  of 
the  uncultivated  wildernefs,  and  the  extenfive  views  of 
nature  gained  from  the  brows  of  a  lofty  mountain,  pro- 
duce an  expanfion  of  fancy  and  an  elevation  of  thought 
more  dignified  and  noble.  When  thefe  great  fcenes  of 
creation  open  upon  the  view,  they  roufe  an  admiration 
exalting  as  it  is  delightful:  and  while  the  eye  furveys  at  a 
glance  the  immenfity  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  mind  is 
rendered  confcious  of  its  innate  dignity,  and  recognifes 
thofe  great  and  comprehenfive  powers  with  which  it  is 
endowed.  The  Sublime  in  Nature,  which,  in  its 
effect  is  equally  folemn  and  pleafing,  captivates  while  it 
awes,  and  charms  while  it  elevates  and  expands  the  foul. 

Saturday,  June  18 

We  tarried  laft  night  at  Campbell's  at  the  Cold  Springs, 
where  we  met  with  the  moft  excellent  accommodations, 
and  lodging  peculiarly  refrefhing  to  weary  wayworn 
travellers;  and  rofe  this  morning  with  renovated  ftrength 
and  fpirits  to  refume  our  journey. 

[73]  We  f topped  at  Chambersburg  to  breakfaft. 
This  is  a  fine  town,  fituated  on  Conogocheague  Creek, 
through  which  might  be  opened  an  eafy  communication 
with  the  Potomack.  It  is  a  poft-town,  and  the  capital 
of  Franklin  County,  in  Pennfylvania ;  and  is  principally 
built  on  two  large  ftreets  which  interfect  each  other  at 
right  angles,  leaving  a  public  fquare  in  the  centre.  It 
contains  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  houfes,  handfomely 
built  of  brick  or  ftone;  two  Prefbyterian  churches;  a 
Court-houfe  of  brick,   and   a  ftone   Gaol.     There  is  a 


1803]  Harris's  Journal  369 

printing-office  in  the  place,  and  a  paper-mill  in  the  vicinity. 
It  is  a  fituation  favourable  to  trade  and  manufactures, 
and  every  thing  looks  lively  and  thriving.  The  land  in 
the  neighbourhood  appears  rich  and  fertile,  and  is  highly 
cultivated.50 

We  dined  at  Home's  on  the  top  of  the  South  Moun- 
tain, and  flept  at  Oxford,  a  fmall  town  which  has  been 
built  nine  years,  but  does  not  appear  to  much  advantage.51 

Lord's  Day,  June  19 

Wishing  to  attend  public  worfhip  at  Yorktown,  we 
rofe  early  this  morning  and  arrived  there  by  nine  o'clock; 
having  paffed  [74]  through  Abbot's  Town,  a  pretty  flour- 
ifhing  village,  the  chief  town  of  Adams  County. 


52 


Monday,  June  20 

Yorktown  is  a  fine  place,  in  pleafantnefs  vying  with 
Lancafter,  in  neatnefs  exceeding  it.  It  is  a  poft-town, 
and  capital  of  the  county  of  York.  It  is  fituated  on  the 
eaft  fide  of  Codorus  Creek,  which  empties  into  the  Suf- 
quehannah.  It  is  regularly  laid  out,  principally  on  two 
main  ftreets  which  crofs  each  other  at  right  angles.  It 
contains  more  than  five  hundred  houfes,  feveral  of  which 
are  handfomely  built  of  brick,  and  fome  of  ftone.  The 
public  buildings  are  a  German  Lutheran,  a  German 
Calvinift,    a   Prefbyterian,    a   Roman    Catholic,    and   a 

60  For  the  early  history  of  Chambersburg,  see  Post's  Journals,  vol.  i  of  this 
series,  p.  238,  note  77.  Harris  returned  east  by  the  southern  route,  or  Cham- 
bersburg pike,  which  branched  from  the  main  route  some  twelve  miles  east  of 
Bedford,  passed  through  the  central  part  of  Franklin  and  Adams  counties,  and 
through  York  to  Wright's  Ferry  on  the  Susquehanna. —  Ed. 

51  This  is  now  known  as  New  Oxford,  a  town  in  Adams  County;  it  was  laid 
out  by  a  German,  Henry  Kuhns,  in  1792. —  Ed. 

52  This  territory  was  largely  a  German  settlement,  and  few  towns  were 
desired.  Abbottstown  was  laid  out  by  a  pioneer  of  "that  name,  as  early  as 
1753,  but  not  incorporated  until  1835. —  Ed. 


37° 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  3 


Moravian  Church;  a  Quaker  meeting-houf e ;  a  Court 
houfe;  a  ftone  Gaol;  a  Record  office,  and  an  Academy. 

Hence  our  journey  was  through  Lancajter,  Reading, 
and  Bethlehem,  in  Pennfylvania ;  Warwick  and  Fijhkill, 
in  New  York;  and  Farmington  and  Hartford  in  Connec- 
ticut. 

We  reached  home  the  beginning  of  July. 

— ' '  O  quid  folutis  eft  beatius  curis, 
Cum  mens  onus  reponit,  ac  peregrino 
Lahore  feffi,  venimus  Larem  ad  noftrum!" 


[75]   Itinerary 

The  following  directory  of  the  Roads  and  Diftances 
over  the  mountains,  from  Lancafter  in  Pennfylvania,  may 
be  of  ufe  to  explain  fome  particulars  in  the  preceding 
Journal,  and  prove  of  fervice  to  thofe  who  may  have  occa- 
fion  to  make  the  fame  tour.53 


Towns 

Inns 

Diftances  in 

miles 

From  Lancaster 

to  Big  Chickey's 

Cockran's            ...       9 

Elizabeth  town 

Black  horje 

■       9 

Middletown 

m 

•       9 

Chambers1  ferry  over 

the  Sufquehannah    . 

.       6 

^Silver  jprings5*  . 

. 

8 

Carlifle 

.... 

10 

Mount  rock 

Grand  Turk 

10 

Shippenfburg 

.... 

n 

Strafburg    . 

.... 

11 

Over  two  mountains  to  Fannetf  burg 

7 

Over  the  third  mountain  to  Burnt  Cabii 

is 

4 

63  Those  places  where  the  beft  entertainment  for  travellers  is  furnished,  are 
diftinguifhed  by  this  mark.^[ — Harris. 

"  At  this  place  guefts  are  regaled  with  a  repaft  of  fine  trout. —  Harris. 


i8o3] 


Harris's  'Journal 


371 


Towns                                          Inns                                           Diftances  in 

miles 

Over  Sideling  Hills  to  Wilds        .                               13 

Crojjings  0}  the  Juniata  •([Martin's 

•       9 

If  Graham's 

.       8 

[76]  Bedford55      ..... 

.       6 

Forks  0}  the  road59           ^Smith's    . 

■       4 

Glade  road          .             Metzker's 

10 

Top  0)  the  Alleghany   White  horje 

.     11 

Somerfet     .         .           ^[Webfter's 

•     J3 

Laurel  Hill 

.       8 

Behmer's 

■       3 

Jones's  Mill         ..... 

.       6 

Mount  Pleafant    ..... 

11 

Weftmoreland      .          ^[McKean's 

■      5 

Budd's  ferry  over  the  Yohiogany 

.      8 

Pittf burg            .            \Pure  fountain  . 

.     28 

CJannonfburg         .          Black  horje 

.     18 

Wafhington        .            Indian  Queen     . 

•       9 

Alexandria           ..... 

.     16 

Shepherd's  Mills  ..... 

■       9 

Wheeling57          .            ^[Goodwin's 

•       7 

Down  the  river  to  Marietta 

■     95 

From  Marietta  to 
Newport 


[77]  Returning 

^[Dana's    . 

Williamfon's 

^[McBride's 


16 

14 
12 


65  From  Bedford  to  Baltimore  143  miles,  and  to  Pittfburg  11 1  miles. — Harris. 

M  The  fouthernmost  road  is  called  the  Glade  road,  and  is  confidered  as  the 
beft  except  after  heavy  rains;  the  northernmoft  is  called  the  Old  or  Forbes' s 
road,  and  goes  by  Fort  Ligonier.  Thefe  roads  unite  twenty-eight  miles  on  this 
fide  of  Pittfburg. —  Harris. 

67  The  whole  distance  from  Bofton  to  Wheeling,  the  road  we  went,  is  817 
miles,  and  from  Philadelphia  472  miles. —  Harris. 


372 


Early  Western  Travels 


[V0I.3 


Towns 


Inns 


Hurd's  jerry  acrojs  the  Ohio    Hurd's 
Fijh  Creek  .... 

Grave  Creek        .  UBigg's     . 

Wheeling  .  ^[Goodwin's 

Donegala    ..... 
Wafhington  .  Indian  Queen 

fHawkin's 
Brownfville  or  Redftone  fjenkinfon's 


Union-town 
Connelfville 
Chesnut  ridge 

Top  oj  Laurel  Hill 
Somerfet 

Top  of  Alleghany 


^Collins's 

^Welles'    . 

^Woodruff 

Bachelor's 

Slaucher's 

Webfter's 

McDommet's 


Strotler's   . 

Metzker's 
Forks  oj  the  road  Bonnet's    . 

^Smith's    . 
End  of  the  Glade  road 
[78]  Bedford         .... 

][Graham's58 
Crojjings  oj  the  Juniata  ^Martin's59 
[Then,  to  go  by  Chamberfburg,  take  the 
road  on  the  S.  E.  jide  oj  Sideling 
Hills]        .         .  Beckwith's 

McConnelftown  ^{Davis's    . 

Campbell's 


Diftances  in 
miles 
12 

8 
12 
12 

23 

9 

13 
12 

12 

11 

9 

5 
4 

14 
8 

6 

7 
4 

9 
1 

4 
6 

8 


8 

9 

5 


68  See  the  preceding  Journal. —  Harris. 

68  Neat  chambers,  clean  beds,  and  foft  pillows;  fweet  water,  and  affiduous 


attendance. —  Harris. 


i8o3] 

Harris's  Journal 

373 

Towns 

Inns                                           Diftances  in 

miles 

Chamberfburg 

9 

McKean's 

4 

Brigham's 

4 

Home's     . 
Crojs  Keys 
Lion 
Murphy's 

•       5 

■  7 

■  3 
.       8 

Oxford 

•                  •                  •                  • 

2 

Abbot's  town 

*                        m                        m                        *                        < 

^King's     .         . 
Wolfe's      . 

4 
4 
6 

Yorktown   . 

lUpp's   \ 
Wright's  ferry     , 

5 

12 

Lancafter 

Swan's 

IO 

[79]  THERMOMETRICAL  OBSERVATIONS 

From  April  6  to  June  13,  1803 


Days 
of  the 
month 

Times  of 
observation 

Place 

Wind 

Weather 

APRIL 

Fahrenh,        deg. 

6 

VI.A.M.    34 

Carlifle  in  Pennfyl- 
vania. 

N.W. 

II.  P.M.  64 

127    miles   from 
Philad. 

s.w. 

Fair  all  day. 

7 

X.A.M.   52 

Stratfburg,   at  the 
foot  of  the  moun- 
tain . 

N. 

XI.  A.M.  58 

Top  of  the  moun- 
tain. 

W.N.W. 

XII.M.    67 

Valley  below     . 

H.P.M.  57 

Top  of  the  fecond 
ridge. 

III.  P.M.  69 

Fannetfburg;    2d 
valley. 

W. 

V.  P.M.    72 

Top  of  third  moun- 
tain . 

VII.  P.M.60 

Burnt  Cabins;  3d 
valley. 

s.w. 

Fair  all  day. 

8 

VI.  A.M.  48 

Same  place    . 

w.s.w. 

Hazy. 

X.A.M.    62 

Foot   of  Sideling 
mountain   . 

Fair,  except 
while    envel- 
oped with 
clouds  on  the 
fide  of   the 
mountain. 

9 

XII.M.    56 
II.  P.M.    65 
V.  P.M.    58 

(Borders  of  the  ( 
J      Juniata.          { 

N.W. 

Fair. 

10 

VIII.A.M39 

) 

XI.  A.M.  62 

}  fame  place    . 

Fair. 

II.  P.M.   68 

\ 

11 

VII.  A.M.54 

Bedford 

>  Fair. 

II.  P.M.   78 

Foot  of  the  Alle- 

ghany 

VII.  P.M.52 

Top  of  the  moun- 
tain . 

i8o3] 


Harris's  'Journal 


375 


Days 
of  the 
month 


12 


13 


14 


15 


16 

[80] 
17 


18 


T9 


20 


Times  of 
observation 


VI.A.M.   55 

XII.  M.    74 

V.  P.M.    77 

VII.P.M.60 

VI.  A.M.  57 
X.  A.M.    63 

XII.  M.    84 

VII.  P.M.79 
VI.  A.M.  70 


II.  P.M.  65 
VII.  P.M.68 

VI.  A.M.  58 

X.A.M.    64 

VII.  P.M.55 
IX.  P.M.  49 
VII.  A.M35 
XII.  M.    48 

VI.  P.M.  46 

VII.  A.M.44 
XII.  M.    46 

VI.  P.M.  45 

VII.  A.M.43 
XII.  M.  63 
VII.  P.M.60 
VII.  A.M.45 
II.  P.M.  72 
VII.  P.M.62 
X.A.M.    62 

m.  p.m.  78 

VI.  P.M.  68 


Place 


Top  of  the  moun- 
tain 

Somerfet 

Foot    of    Laurel 
mountain. 

Top  of  the  moun- 
tain, 
fame  place 

Bottom  of  Laurel 
Hill  . 

265    miles    from 
Philad.       . 

280  fame  place. 

285    fame    place 
(Weftmoreland 
County.) 

Banks  of  Monon- 
gahela. 

Mifflin  (Allegha- 
ny Co.)  312  miles 
from  Philad. 

Valley  of  Monon- 
gahela. 

Pittfburg 
fame  place, 
fame  place. 

fame  place. 


Pittfburg. 


fame  place. 

Pittfburg. 

Cannonfburg. 

Wafhington. 

10   miles  beyond 

Wafh. 
Shepherd's    mills 

on  Wheeling 

Creek. 
Wheeling. 


Wind 


E. 

W. 
W. 

W. 


S.W. 


N.W. 
W. 


S.E. 


S.E.  by  E. 


S.S.W. 


Weather 


Smoky. 


Smoky  all  day. 

Hazy.  . 

Fair. 

Smoky. 
Shower. 


Rain. 

Cloudy.    Snow 

in  the  night. 

Clear. 

Flurry  of  fnow. 

Cloudy. 


60 


Fair 


Fair  &  pleafant. 


Fair. 


Fair. 


eoFrom  Bedford  our  direction  has  been  north  to  the  amount  of  more  than  a 
degree. —  Harms. 


376 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  3 


D»ys 
or  the  | 
month 

21 


22 


23 
24 

25 
26 

27 

28 

29 

30 


MAY 

I 

[8l] 

2 


Times  of 
observation 


VII.  A.M.62 
II.  P.M.    75 


VII.  P.  M.72 
VII.  A.M.64 


II.  P.M.  73 
VII.P.M.  65 

VII.A.M.  58 
II  P.M.  65 
V.  P.M.  63 
VII.  A.M.66 
II.  P.M.  68 
V.  P.M.  65 
VII.  A.M.55 
II.  P.M.  66 
V.  P.M.  64 
VII.A.M.  46 
II.  P.M.  60 
V.  P.M.  58 
VII.  A.M.48 


XII.  M. 
V.  P.M. 
VII.A.M. 
XII.  M. 
V.  P.M. 
VII.A.M. 
XII.  M. 
V.  P.M. 
VII.A.M. 
XII.  M. 
V.  P.M. 


61 

57 
55 
75 
64 

59 
70 

68 

61 

76 

75 


VII.A.M.  72 
XII.  M.  79 
V.  P.M.  68 
VII.  A.M.63 
XII.  M.    61 


Place 


Wheeling. 
Captinat  Iflandon 

the    Ohio,    101 

miles  below  Pittf- 

burg. 
Fifh   Creek,    no 

miles  below  Pittf- 

burg. 
Long  reach  on  the 

Ohio  127  miles 

below  Pittfburg. 
Long  reach. 
Head  of  Mufkin- 

gum  HI. 

>  Marietta. 


fame  place. 


fame  place. 


fame  place.        ) 
>■  fame  place. 


Wind 


Weather 


Shower      early 
in  morn. 


Fair. 


S.E.  and 
byS. 

S.S.W. 
S.W.&W. 

E.N.E. 
E.andbyS. 

W.S.W. 

S.W. 

S.W.  and 
byW. 


Frefh  wind 
W.N.W. 

N.W. 


Fair. 


Rainy. 

Rainy. 

Rainy. 
Cloudy. 
[  Fair. 
Fair. 

Fair. 

Fair. 

Fair. 
Hazy. 

Fair. 

Fair.  Slight  frost 
in  the   night. 


i8o3] 


Harris's  'Journal 


377 


Days 
of  the 
month 

Times  of 
observation 

Place 

Wind 

Weather 

2 

V.P.M.    50 

Marietta. 

3 

VII.A.M.55 

) 

XII.  M.    58 

\  fame  place. 

N.W. 

Fair. 

V.P.M.    55 

) 

4 

VII  A.M.  54 

XII.  M.    62 

>•  fame  place. 

s.s.w. 

Fair. 

V.P.M.    58 

) 

5 

VII.  A.M.56 

) 

XII.  M.    62 

>■  fame  place. 

W.N.W. 

Fair. 

6 

V.P.M.    59 
VII.  A.M.54 
XII.  M.    58 
V.P.M.    52 

>•  Bellepre". 

N. 

Remarkably 

cold  for  this 

region. 

Fall    of    f now : 

7 

VII.  A.M.44 
XII.  M.    52 
V.P.M.    39 

>  fame  place. 

N.N.W. 

very      unufual 
here,  and  more 
than  fell  at  any 
one  time  in  the 

8 

VII.  A.M.38 

) 

winter. 

XII.  M.    56 

>  fame  place. 

N.N.W. 

Fair. 

V.P.M.    55 

s 

9 

VII.  A.M.53 

) 

XII.  M.    58 

>  fame  place. 

Fair. 

V.P.M.    56 

) 

IO 

VII.A.M.55 

) 

XII.  M.    69 

>  fame  place. 

N.W. 

Fair. 

V  P.M      58 

s 

ii 

VII.  A.M.55 

) 

XII.  M.    70 

]■  Marietta. 

w.s.w. 

Fair. 

V.P.M.    71 

) 

12 

VII.  A.M.65 
XII.  M.    80 
V.P.M.    77 

>  fame  place. 

W.and 
by  N. 

Fair. 

13 

VII.  A.M.68 

"fame  place. 

XII.  M.    82 

Fair. 

V.P.M.    79 

14 

VII  A.M.  72 
XII.  M.    80 

•  Marietta. 

>  Fair. 

V.P.M.    79 

8  miles  up  the  Muf - 
kingum. 

Thunder- 
fhower. 

*5 

VII.  A.M.71 
XII.  M.    78 
V.P.M.    75 

At  Rainbow,  a  lit- 
tle village  12 
miles  up  the 
Mufkingum. 

Hazy. 
Fair 

378 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  3 


Days 
of  the 
month 

16 


17 

[82] 
18 


19 


Times  of 
observation 


20 

21 
22 

23 
24 

25 
26 
27 
28 
29 


VII.  A.M.  78 
XII.  M.  83 
V.  P.M.  77 

VII  A.M.  62 
XII.  M.  85 
V.  P.M.  80 
VII.  A.M.63 
XII.  M.  80 
V.  P.M.  77 
VII.  A  M.82 
XII.  M.  84 
V.  P.M.  86 


VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P. 

VII. 


A.M.71 

M.  76 
.M.  73 
A.M.63 
M.  69 
.M.  65 
A.M.64 
M.  69 
.M.  68 
A.M.  5 
M.  66 
.M.  60 
A.M.70 
M.  71 
.M.  68 
A.M.64 
M.  68 
M.  66 
A.M.65 
M.  68 
M.  65 
A.M.64 
M.  75 
M.  63 
A.M.62 
M.  68 
.M.  64 
A.M.58 


Place 


I  Up  the  Mufkin- 
I      gum. 
18    miles    from 
Marietta. 
Waterford,    25 
miles     from 
Marietta. 

Waterford. 


/-Returning  from 
)      Waterford. 


>  Marietta. 


fame  place. 


Wind 


W.N.W. 


W.N.W. 

W.N.W. 

N.N.E. 

s.s.w. 


s.w. 


E.N.E. 


Weather 


Broken  clouds. 
Thun.  fhowers. 

Fair. 


Fair. 

Showery. 
Clouds  united 
from  the  N.E. 
and  S.W.  with 
a  heavy  thun- 
der fhower. 

Cloudy. 
Fair. 

Cloudy. 

Rainy. 

Fair. 
Cloudy. 

Rain. 

Cloudy. 

Fair. 

Thun.  fhowers. 

Fair. 

Cloudy. 

Thun.  fhower. 

Fair. 

Flying  clouds, 
&  diftant  thun. 
Fair. 


Fair. 
Fair. 


i8o3] 


Harris's  'Journal 


379 


Days 
of  the 
month 

29 


30 


31 


JUNE 
I 


[83] 

3 


5 
6 


10 


Times  of 
observation 


XII.  M.  63 
V.  P.M.  56 
VII.  A.M.59 
XII.  M.  72 
V.  P.M.  70 
VII.  A.M.58 
XII.  M.  81 
V.  P.M.    60 


VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII 

XII 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 

V.  P 

VII. 

XII. 


A.M.71 
M.  80 
M.  76 
A.M.72 
M.  85 
.M.  81 
A.M.72 
M.  79 
.M.  74 
A.M.71 
M.  74 
,M.  72 
A.M.69 
M.  77 
.M.  62 
A.M.67 
M.  75 


V.  P.M.  63 
VII.  A.M.66 
XII.  M.    77 

V.P.M.  62 
VII.  A.M.59 


XII.  M 
V.  P.M. 
VII.A.M 
XII.  M. 
V.  P.M. 
VII.  A.M.68 
XII.  M.    84 


76 

70 

64 

73 
72 


Place 


j-  Bellepre\ 


fame  place. 

Vienna,  a  little 
village  on  the 
Ohio,  in  the 
State  of  Vir- 
ginia. 


Marietta. 


fame  place. 


fame  place. 


fame  place. 


fame  place. 

Marietta. 

25   miles  up  the 

river. 
48    do. 
fame  place. 
63   miles  up  the 

river. 
Grave  Creek. 

j-   do. 

Wheeling. 

\  Wheeling. 

Wheeling. 
1 2    miles    from 
Wheeling. 


Wind 


s.s.w. 

S.W.  and 
byW. 


Weather 


Fair. 


Fair. 


Fair. 


Fair. 

Scattered 

clouds. 

Fair. 

>  Rainy. 
Thunder. 

Rainy. 

Scatt.  clouds. 
Fair. 

Fair. 


Fair. 


Fair. 
Shower. 


Fair. 


! 


Fair. 


38o 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  3 


Days 
of  the 
month 

Times  of 
observation 

IO 

V.  P.M.    78 

II 

VII.  A.M.74 
XII.  M.    84 
V.  P.M.    82 

12 

VII.  A.M.72 
XII.  M.    84 
V.  P.M.    83 

Place 


! 


Fair. 


Donegala,  a  fmall 

town    in    Penn- 

fylvania. 

Wafhington,    in 
Wafhington 
I      County,  Penn- 
J      fylvania. 
fame  place.  ,  Faif 

\  Brownfvilie."  \^^_ 

fhower   in   the 
evening. 

n  At  this  place  I  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  break  my  Thermometer. —  Harris. 


Wind 


Weather 


[84]  METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS 


MADE  AT  GRENVILLE  COLLEGE  IN  THE  STATE  OF  TENNESSEE 

By  William  Chandler,  a.m.  one  of  the  Tutors 


March,  1803 

Obfervations 

Thermometer 

The  greateft  degree  of  cold  was  on  the 
2d  in  the  morning:  the  greateft  degree  of 
heat  on  the  26th  P.M.     Prevalent  winds 

Times  of 
observation 

Highest 

Lowest 

Mean 

Morning. 

Noon. 

P.M. 

65 

73 

75 

63 
20 

20 

44 
58 
63 

from  S.  to  W.  A  very  little  fnow  on  the 
9th.  From  the  ift  to  7th  fair;  on  the  7th 
and  8th  much  rain,  and  fome  thunder; 

Barometer 

on  the  13th,  14th,  15th,  19th,  and  27th 
rain,  much  wind,  and  thunder.  The  re- 
maining days  funfhine  and  pleafant. 

Peach  trees  in  bloom  the  latter  end  of 
this  month. 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

28,80 
28,82 
28,78 

28,14 
28,l8 

28,33 

28,50 
28,56 

28,55 

April 

The  greateft  degree  of  cold  was  on  the 

Thermometer 

17th;  the  greateft  degree  of  heat  was  on 
the  29th.  Prevalent  winds  from  S.  to 
N.W.  Rain  on  the  4th,  15th,  20th,  22d, 
23d,  and  25th.  The  atmosphere  was 
very  fmoky  a  confiderable  part  of  the 
remaining  days.  On  the  17th,  18th, 
and   19th  were  frofts  which  deftroyed 

Times  of 
observation 

Highest 

Lowest 

Mean 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

70 

78 
82 

32 
50 

54 

55 
69 

70 

Barometer 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

28,79 
28,79 
28,79 

28,21 
28,21 

28,43 

28,57 
28,58 

28,57 

the  young  fruit,  and  the  principal  part 
of  the  maft. 

Not  much  thunder  this  month. 

May 

Thermometer 

The  greateft  degree  of  heat  was  on  the 
17th;  the  leaft  on  the  9th,  when  there 
was  froft.  Rain  on  the  ift,  4th,  5th,  6th, 
7th,  17th,  18th,  20th,  22d,  24th,  25th, 
and  26th;  the  other  days  were  fair;  but 

Times  of 
observation 

Highest 

Lowest 

Mean 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

70 
82 

86 

44 
58 
60 

6l 

73 

75 

Barometer 

few  of  them  fmoky. 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

28,90 
28,91 
28,89 

28,26 
28,26 
28,27 

28,52 
28,52 
28,54 

Not  much  thunder  this  month. 

382 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  3 


June 

Obfervations 

Thermometer 

Greateft  degree  of  heat  on  the  17  th 
and  27th,  leaft  on  the  6th.     Rain  on  the 

Times  of 
observation 

Highest 

Lowest 

Mean 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

76 

83 
87 

6l 
72 
72 

69 
78 
83 

4th,  5th,  12th,  15th,  16th,  18th,  and  19th. 
The  remainder  of  the  month  pleafant. 
No  days  f moky. 

Barometer 

The  meazles  have  prevailed  this,  and 
the    preceding    months,    with    greater 
fe verity  than  had  been  known  before. 
In  many  inftances  they  proved  fatal. 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

28,80 
28,81 
28,77 

28,33 
28,32 

28,29 

28,54 
28,56 

28,54 

[85]  J^y 

Thermometer 

The  greateft  degree  of  heat  was  on  the 

Times  of 
observation 

Highest 

Lowest 

Mean 

12th  and  13th;  the  leaft  on  the  6th  and 
7th.     The  thermometer  has  ftood  at  90 
two  or  three  times  at  between  III.  and 
IV.  P.M.     We  had  rain  on  the  2d,  4th, 
1 6th,  17th,  and  24th. 
For  the  two  laft  months  the  prevalent 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

77 
86 

89 

64 
72 

75 

71 
79 

73 

Barometer 

A.M. 

M. 

P.M. 

28,79 
28,80 
28,78 

28,39 

28,35 
28,34 

28,58 
28,59 
28,57 

winds  were  from  S.W.  to  W.     We  have 
very  few  winds  from  the  eaft.     Storms 
are  heard  to  roar  in  the  mountains,fif- 

Note.  T 
ohjervation 
greatejt  hea 

he  tin 
is  ah 
t  oj  th 

ie  oj 
'tile  pc 
■e  day. 

P.M. 

ijt  the 

teen  miles  fouth  of  this  place,  for  one  or 
more  days  before  they  come. 

"The  bare  title  hardly  conveys  an  idea  of  the  interesting  lore  embraced  in  this  admirably  car- 
ried out  study  of  the  roads  and  their  part  in  the  development  of  the  country. " — Boston  Globe. 


The  Historic  Highways  of  America 

by  Archer  Butler  Hulbert 

A  series  of  monographs  on  the  History  of  America  as  portrayed  in  the  evo- 
lution of  its  highways  of  War,  Commerce,  and  Social  Expansion. 

Comprising  the  following  volumes : 

I — Paths  of  the  Mound-Building  Indians  and  Great  Game  Animals. 
II — Indian  Thoroughfares. 

Ill— Washington's  Road:  The  First  Chapter  of  the  Old  French  War. 
IV— Braddock's  Road. 
V— The  Old  Glade  (Forbes's)  Road. 
VI — Boone's  Wilderness  Road. 
VII — Portage  Paths:  The  Keys  of  the  Continent. 
VIII — Military  Roads  of  the  Mississippi  Basin. 
IX — Waterways  of  Westward  Expansion. 
X — The  Cumberland  Road. 
XI,  XII — Pioneer  Roads  of  America,  two  volumes. 
XIII,  XIV — The  Great  American  Canals,  two  volumes. 
XV — The  Future  of  Road- Making  in  America. 
XVI— Index. 

Sixteen  volumes,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  uncut,  gilt  tops.  A  limited  edition 
only  printed  direct  from  type,  and  the  type  distributed.  Each  volume  hand- 
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Published  a  volume  each  two  months,  beginning  September,  1902. 

Price,  volumes  1  and  2,  $2.00  net  each;  volumes  3  to  16,  #2.50  net 
each. 

Fifty  sets  printed  on  large  paper,  each  numbered  and  signed  by  the 
author.  Bound  in  cloth,  with  paper  label,  uncut,  gilt  tops.  Price,  $5.00 
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"The  history  of  American  trails  and  carries  in  colonial  times ;  of  paths,  roads,  and  highways 
in  our  national  beginnings;  and  of  our  great  lake,  river,  and  railroad  traffic  in  later  times  is  and 
has  been  of  the  first  importance  in  our  social  and  political  history.  Mr.  Hulbert  has  shown 
himself  abundantly  able  to  investigate  the  subject  and  putin  good  form  the  results  of  his  labors. " 

—  Professor  William  M.  Sloane,  Princeton  University. 

"  Mr.  Hulbert  has  evidently  mastered  his  subject,  and  has  treated  it  very  ably  and  enthusi- 
astically. History  is  too  frequently  a  mere  collection  of  dry  bones,  but  here  we  have  a  book 
which,  when  once  begun,  will  be  read  eagerly  to  the  end,  so  vividly  does  the  author  bring 
scenes  and  personages  before  us. " —  Current  Literature. 

"  As  in  the  prior  volumes,  the  general  effect  is  that  of  a  most  entertaining  series.  The  charm 
of  the  style  is  evident. ' ' — American  Historical  Review. 

"  His  style  is  effective  ...  an  invaluable  contribution  to  the  makings  of  American  His- 
tory."—  New  York  Evening  Post. 

"Should  fill  an  important  and  unoccupied  place  in  American  historical  literature." 

—  The  Dial. 


"The  most  important  project  ever  undertaken  in  the  line  of  Philippine 
history  in  any  language,  above  all  the  English." — New  York  Evening  Post. 

The   Philippine   Islands 

1493-1898 

Being  the  history  of  the  Philippines 

from  their  discovery  to  the  present  time 

EXPLORATIONS  by  early  Navigators,  descriptions 
of  the  Islands  and  their  Peoples,  their  History,  and 
records  of  the  Catholic  Missions,  as  related  in  contempo- 
raneous books  and  manuscripts,  showing  the  political, 
economic,  commercial,  and  religious  conditions  of  those 
Islands  from  their  earliest  relations  with  European  Na- 
tions to  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Translated,  and  edited  and  annotated  by  E.  H.  Blair  and 
J.  A.  Robertson,  with  introduction  and  additional  notes  by 
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With  Analytical  Index  and  Illustrations.  Limited  edition, 
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without  which  no  work  on  the  Philippines  could  be  definitive." 

—  American  Anthropologist. 

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DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


DEfilll998 


12,000(11/95) 


poda,  m^    ™  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   BERKELEY 

FORM  NO.  DD6,  60m,  1  /83  BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


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C02M317171 


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